The Legend of Heroes
by Doodlebug QT
Summary: The new avatar is on the run from the old enemies of her past life. She'll need the help of heros from another world to keep her safe as she strugles to master the four elements. Justice League-Avatar the Last Airbender-Batman the Animated Series
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
>Christmas Present<p>

Tears stung her eyes as she ran through the cold bitter forest. The little girl was terrified beyond anything. She heard the booms behind her and felt the ground rumble beneath her feet. Yuna pulled her little sister forward. She tried to keep up with the woman's long strides but her tiny legs couldn't go any faster.

"Com'on Yuki we can't slow down now!"

"Yuna, please. I can't run any faster."

The woman scooped the little girl up and ran for both of them. Yuki looked over her sister's shoulders and saw people run at them from far away. Fire exploded from one of the figures and rock emerged from under another. Yuna sprinted forward and closed in behind a set of rocks. She stopped suddenly and knelt to the ground. She dug into the cold frozen snow with bare fingers and dusted off what appeared to be an opening into a city sewer system.

Yuki stared. She was only six years old but even she knew that the forest was no place for a sewer system like this.

Yuna pulled hard and forced the covering opened. A stuffy smell emerged from below. Yuna pulled off the bag she was carrying and swung it over Yukie's shoulders. She gripped her by the shoulders and looked urgently into her little sister's eyes.

"Yuki, you have to leave me."

"What? NO! I can't do that."

"Yuki please. Listen to me. You don't understand now but you will." She motioned towards the bag. "Inside of here is everything you need to know about our world. Where we come from. I had to take you away because things were dangerous there. Too dangerous for you to stay. You're too young to understand now but sacrifices must be made sometimes."

Yuki shook her head, tears swelling in her eyes. Sacrifices were forbidden in their culture and tribe. "No we're not allowed to. We're never supposed to sacrifice. Dad said so."

"In the offerings we're not supposed to. But in life sometimes they are called for." The booms were getting closer now. They couldn't waste any more time with this conversation. "Listen to me" Yuki shook her head angrily. "LISTEN! You are going to leave me. You are going to run down this hole and you are going to find somewhere safe and stay there. Understand!"

It was scary. Really scary. Her sister was leaving her and now she expected Yuki to go somewhere dark, cold, and alone.

The woman took her hands and lowered her into the dark pipe before she was ready.

"Don't be afraid." She called below. "Keep following the tunnel until you reach the end. Listen to the spirits, they'll guide you if you come to a division. And only use your bending around others at the most dire need. Otherwise try not to use it unless you're alone."

"But what about you?"

Tears stung her eyes, threatening to tip out. She forced a smile for the little girl and made her voice calming. " Don't worry, little sister. I'll meet you again."

But even she knew that was less than likely.

She tossed a bundle of unlit torches down to her. "The tunnel is lit with lume crystals but they'll stop eventually. The torches will give you seven hours of light each. Try to conserve them as best you can."

And without so much as a goodbye, Yuna covered the opening and for one terrifying moment, Yuki's world was plunged in darkness.

* * *

><p>She'd been walking for several days now, yet she couldn't quite be certain. In the tunnel, there was no such thing as definite time periods. She couldn't see the sun or the moon or anything down here. Nothing to tell her when to rest and when to wake. She'd developed somewhat of a routine. When she felt tired she would rest, when she was hungry she would eat and when she was ready, she would walk again.<p>

The green crystals were thick and comforting in the closed tunnel but soon the bright lights thinned, growing more and more scarce the farther she went. Finally there were no more left and she was reduced to continue under torchlight.

On and on. Sometimes she passed by a ladder up to another opening of the sewage, but she didn't go up.

Keep following the tunnel until you come to the end.

Well she hadn't come to the end yet so she pressed forward. A horrible smell hit her suddenly and she covered her nose quickly before the stench could nock her off her feet. She gagged and for a moment she nearly thought she would throw up. Instead she reached into her fluffy fur coat and drew out a handkerchief to cover her nose with it. The freshly washed cloth protected her from the ghastly smells at least. She wondered where she was, in order to discover such a turning smell. She proceeded forward.

Then suddenly a light shone in the distance.

"A light! Yay!" Her walk turned into a run as she moved forward excitedly. She could smell fresh air and felt wind.

At last she'd reached the end of the tunnel to find… a large black city.

She gazed, awed and terrified at the same time. The enormous buildings were far larger than anything she'd ever seen even in Ba Sing-Se. They seemed to stretch right into the sky. And great spirits they looked to be made of glass and lights.

"What is this place? Where am I?"

* * *

><p>The cold air was bitter to every passerby on the streets, yet to the water tribe girl (who'd grown up in icy climates during summer) this was considered picnic weather.<p>

Yuki smiled at the surrounding decorations that covered every available tree. The night was so pretty here. The trees lit up and there was a good smell of cooking nearby. Her stomach growled and she followed from where it was coming from. A large window display held sweet pastries behind a thin layer of glass. She pressed against it, marveling in the colorful gingerbread houses, fruitcake, Christmas cookies, and chocolate sculptures all package with pretty red, green, and gold wrappings.

It gave her a comforting feeling in the winter air and she went inside, hoping to buy something yummy. Warm air and good sweet aromas immediately greeted her. Then she paused in the doorway. It suddenly dawned on her that she didn't have any money. Perhaps, though, Yuna had put some in her bag. She dug inside and found a wad of green paper. This didn't look like water tribe money. Then she remembered her friend Kido telling her something about this world.

"_See here, Yuki. In this place people use paper money instead of coins and bars like we do in the Earth or Fire Nation."_

"_But that burns too easily."_

"_Yes well, people don't normally firebend around here so it's okay."_

She wondered how she was supposed to pay with this paper money. She went up to the counter and looked over the top to a nice lady with glasses and wearing a green blouse and red skirt.

She smiled down on Yuki. "Hi honey. What would you like?"

She looked into the display before her and wondered which she wanted to try first. There were so many things there; cakes, pies, creams, cookies. She chose a little dark cake with brown syrup drizzled over it and a cherry on top.

The woman wrapped it up and pressed some buttons on a machine. "Three dollars please."

Yuki looked questionably at the wad of papers in her hand and counted out three.

The woman frowned. "Hun, this is too much. You just gave me, sixty dollars. Here." She handed back two bills and took the one. The woman handed her back several more bills as well as the box and smiled. "Here you go, Sweetie. Merry Christmas."

Yuki wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She stood for a moment holding her money and holding the box. Then she smiled as the woman had done and cried. "Merry Christmas!" She didn't even know what the words meant. She just liked the sound of them. They sounded cheerful.

She skipped out of the shop and headed down the street, wondering where she could eat her prize.

She found an area without any buildings, where there were only trees, benches, and tables. She sat at a bench nearest to another of those golden trees, and opened her box. The pastry was rich and sticky, clinging to her fingers and making her snack very messy. Despite the mess, it filled her up right away, though she whished she had something to drink. Checking around carefully that no one was watching, she bent the snow into a liquid ball and popped it in her mouth. That washed it down nicely, though milk would've been preferred, or better yet tea.

She finished the cake off and sighed happily. That was good. But now she had the box left. What was she supposed to do with it?

Her eye caught on a portly man across the street that was eating what appeared to be round pastries with holes in the middle. He finished what was left of the bag and dumped it into a can on the corner.

Yuki smiled, understanding now. She rushed across the street and did the same thing with her box.

Well that was sure convenient.

"Now what do I do?" She'd already found food, now she supposed she would look around a bit. This city was so unlike anything she'd ever seen that she just couldn't let it rest. With the light of the sacred full moon shining on her, she was alive and wanting to explore

She walked towards a building that was stimulating an awful lot of commotion. She spotted children giggling and rushing forward. Maybe there was something interesting over there. She rushed forward as well. When she went through the doors she saw the same children lined up at a display where a big man dressed in bright red clothing was sitting on a golden throne. All the children were taking turns sitting on his lap to talk to him.

Yuki looked curiously at such a peculiar sight. She spotted a middle-aged man with a white beard and spectacles carrying wrapped parcels under his arm and watching the scene from afar. She went up to him and tugged on his arm, pointing towards the red man curiously. "S'cuse me, is that the king?"

The man looked amused. "No that's Santa Clause."

"Santa Clause?"

"Course. Haven't you ever seen a Santa Clause?"

She shook her head. "Why are all those little kids lining up to sit on his lap?"

"They're telling him what they want for Christmas."

"Why would they tell him? Wouldn't they just tell their family?"

"Well yes. But Santa is a special symbol for everyone this time of year. Would you like to sit on Santa's lap too?"

She shook her head bluntly. "I'm not supposed to do that. My sister said it's not polite to sit on random strangers."

The man laughed at that, making the boxes shake under his arm. "That's a very good thing to practice. But you don't have to worry about that around Santa."

She looked back over to the portly man and lifted an eyebrow suspiciously as a little boy suddenly began to cry loudly. To her Santa didn't look too happy about children sitting on his lap. In fact, he looked like a total grump. The man shook his head woefully. "Ah Harvey, you're ruining the steak out."

She looked curiously up at the man who just smiled back at her. "I'm just going to watch from over there. Thank you, sir."

"Any time."

She skipped away and took a seat at one of benches in the big building. Soon enough she got tired of watching one after another child sit on the strange portly man and decided to look around the building a bit. She saw people coming in and out of what appeared to be a number of shops. Their wears were interesting and she couldn't' help but get a better look. And my, what fabulous things.

She walked on and on, finding fascination in everything she saw. One shop which really caught her attention was a place selling animals; babies mostly. She was delighted when they actually allowed her to pet and hold them. What was even more charming, was when she stepped in and every animal in the whole shop instantly calmed with her presence. It was as if all disorder separating the animals had been settled and perfect balance for the first time had been achieved.

She took her time looking around at the vast variety of the animals. She favored kittens and the baby ferrets they had. The monkeys were also very entertaining.

"Com'on kid." A man said from behind her. "The mall's closing up. You need to go find your guardians and get going."

Reluctantly, Yuki said goodbye to her new friends and followed the crowd to the exits. It seemed that a lot of stores were now closing as well. There wasn't much left for her to do.

It seemed apparent that now she would have to find shelter. Well there were plenty of buildings around here. Certainly they could house another person. Plus she was really small, so she wouldn't take up too much room.

She walked forward, wondering where to begin searching.

Yuki didn't watch where she was going and bumped into a stiff leg. "Oops. S'cuse me!" she called stumbling back. She looked up, craning her neck to gaze up at a huge man.

"Hey watch it, kid."

"Sorry." She smiled at him and skipped away. Then she remembered something. She turned and waved to him. "Merry Christmas." And then ran off.

"What a nice city." She thought, stopping at a bench to look up at an evergreen sparkling with bright lights and decked with ribbons and pretty trinkets. It looked like stars had come from the heavens to shine around the tree. "I never knew anything could seem so warm." She sighed leaning on her hands and taking in the peaceful scene.

The tree looked so comforting, she was considering the idea of spending the night under the fanned out branches. They were thick enough to protect her from the elements at least, though not too much. She still needed her waterbending to survive. A heavy wind blew through her coat making her shiver. Maybe under the tree wouldn't be such a good idea after all. There was a storm coming in. She should get some real shelter.

At last she got up, still looking for someplace she could stay for the night. She passed by a group of men, but didn't pay them much attention as she was staring at the fabulous lights around her. Suddenly her ears perked and she felt eyes upon her back. She looked and saw two of the men following her. She didn't react at all towards it, but continued on her way. Yet she could feel them steadily behind her and quickened her pace. Then from out of a corner two more men appeared, blocking her way. Yuki couldn't understand why she felt so unease towards these people. She'd done nothing to them, yet she still felt they would hurt her if she got too close. She looked around for other options.

There was a dark ally to her right and the street where the strange metal carriages zoomed past. It seemed the only real option looked like the ally. But it looked so dark and forlorn that she wasn't sure she should go in. The men started forward closing in the distance and boxing her in. She made up her mind and took the ally. When she reached the end she saw another man blocking the right side. She went the left.

Her heart pounded and she could feel them jogging after her. She sprinted forward, terror finally closing its clutches on her mind. She stopped dead in her tracks when she found herself gazing up at a dead end. Yuki turned, facing the men who'd herded her to this blind alley. They were smiling.

"Hey don't be scared, sweetie."

"We're not going to hurt you."

"Just come with us. We'll help you."

She didn't like them. She didn't like them at all. And she _was_ afraid. They were going to hurt her; she knew it. But why would they hurt her. She was just a little girl. Why would they want to hurt her?

One of them stepped forward and she backed against a brick wall craning her neck to stare up at him, terror-stricken.

"Don't be like that, angel. All we want is this nice button you have." He grabbed her by the front of the coat and held her suspended above the ground. "And if you're good, Santa will give you a present."

Though Yuna was not a water bender herself, she'd learned enough about the different moves and had taught Yuki the best she knew. Yuki wasn't as good as other benders, but she knew enough of self-defense to at least protect herself. Yet now she didn't feel brave enough to take these men before her.

"Y-you better leave me alone!" She tried to make herself sound fierce but all that came out was a squeak. "You, meanies, don't know who you're messing with."

The men laughed. Her threat was more amusing than intimidating. "Oh well by all means, angel. Why don't you go a head and beat us up."

Yuki's blood raced towards the water on the ground. The same way it did every time she felt the pull of energy flowing through her body. Like the pull of a magnet or strings of a marionette controlling her puppets. Her breath became energy, the energy flowed through her body, transformed and became bending. Her arms shot forward and a wave of liquid followed, colliding with the man and shooting him farther than she'd originally intended. His back crashed against a wall and he fell into a trashcan with a bang.

She stared, stunned at her hands. _Wow! That was the strongest bending I ever did._

The rest of the men gaped.

"Did you see that?"

"Oh man!"

"Kid's a super."

They seemed more awed than afraid as one of them hit an idea. "Forget about her stuff, we could sell her on the market."

"Yeah. Ton's of people would love to get their hands on something like this. Thorn or even Luthor would pay an arm and a leg for this talent."

"Big bucks right here, boys."

They all turned towards her. One of them drew out a chain to bind her up.

Yuki had hoped that she would be able to at least scare them away. Yet now they seemed more determined than ever to get her in their clutches. She was too little, she couldn't possibly fight them all off. She summoned another water ball, but her fear was so great that it materialized for a mere second and then splashed back to the ground. She tried again but nothing happened. Terrified, she scrabbled backwards, hitting the wall with a thud. Her arms flew over her head as she braced herself for the pain of their hands.

She imagined the terrible chain as it bound her hands and feet, and screamed splitting the night silence.

She heard something swoosh down from above the buildings and assumed a great bird had past by. Then there were shouts and sounds of struggle coming from the men. Thuds and grunts of pain echoed off the walls, yet Yuki kept her eyes tightly closed. When all was silent, she snuck a glance to see what was taking the men from capturing her at once.

Every one of them was lying unconscious and beaten around her.

_Wow! Who did…_

She spotted the dark figure in the middle of it all. For a moment, all she could do was stare. He was dressed completely in black and his face was covered with a black cowl that made his eyes glow white. The cloak that billowed behind him was cut up to look like dark leathery wings when the wind rustled through. He was like something out of another world.

_Wait! Other world?_

"Are you a spirit?" She whispered with a mixture of awe and fear. She'd heard a lot about spirits who sometimes crossed over to the physical world. She thought at first of the Painted Lady, or of the Blue Spirit she'd heard about from old folklore in the fire nation. Yet some of the stories were not at all nice. She'd even heard of some that came to attack or abduct people. The story of Hei Bai, the wrath of the ocean koi, and Koh was some that occasionally haunted her nightmares.

He must not have heard her. His voice was gruff. "Why are you out alone? Where are your parents?"

The shock of the attack gripped her and tears poured from her eyes. "Dead." She announced sadly. "My sister looks after me but she was attacked a few days ago. I don't know where she is."

He looked at her, then looked in the direction of the man whom assaulted her first. He was still inside the garbage can, unconscious.

"What did you do when you made the water hit that man?"

"Huh?"

_Only use your water bending around others during the direst need. _

"Nothing!" She said quickly, remembering her sister's words.

His eyes narrowed and he turned towards the exit. "Come with me." He said gently, trying not to spook her.

She wasn't sure, but somehow, Yuki doubted he would try and hurt her. Despite his dark outfit, he didn't seem at all like the kind of person who would intentionally hurt little children. He didn't wait for her but continued down the dark ally. She made up her mind at that moment. She rushed forward and grabbed his hand, holding it close as she stepped around the beaten bodies. He didn't shrug her off, as she partly expected him to do, but let her hold on to it. She couldn't quite tell with the padding of her mittens, but his hand seemed strangely warm in this weather.

He led her to the street and took something out of his pocket that blinked a red light. Just then a black metal tank swerved round the corner and halted right in front of them with an oddly high screech. The sound reminded her somewhat of dolphin seals.

This must be like one of those war machines the Fire Nation used to ride around in seventy years ago during the Great War of Fire. She'd never seen one up close, but she'd heard stories and seen crude pictures. But this looked sleeker, nicer, and a lot less… metal looking.

"Is this a battle tank?" she asked looking up at him curiously.

"Among other things." He announced tersely. He clicked something on the box he was holding and the windows on the top of the tank slid open to reveal a cockpit. He scooped her up unexpectedly and jumped inside, setting her in the passenger side. "Put your seat belt on."

"My what?"

He gestured to a strap he had on his side and slid it over him where he clicked it into a buckle. She found hers and did the same, though she wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to do. Even still she didn't want to argue with someone who looked like that. The machine moved forward, far smoother than she'd expected, and they were rushing through the city faster than a sky bison could fly.

She was still a little jittery from what had happened and the strangeness of this vehicle didn't help her. As an addition, she was tired. Very tired. She couldn't remember when she slept last. In the tunnel of course, but it must've been more than twelve hours ago. And even then she wasn't sure how long she stayed asleep at one time. She leaned her head against her seatbelt and closed her eyes. It wasn't a minute later before she was caught in a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"Alfred?"<p>

Batgirl came into view shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips. "He's not here, Bruce. He went to England because his friend was ill. Don't you remember?"

"Oh right."

Even from as far as she was, the woman noticed his passenger before he'd taken her out of the cockpit. It was a child, possibly five or six years old. Her hair was done up in two neat braids on each side of her head. She was dressed in a light blue coat with thick white fur trimming. By the way she was dressed, Barbara assumed she must've been an Eskimo. She even had white mukluks with blue beaded designs and fluffy pompoms. "Who's the little girl?"

"I'm not sure." He announced coming forward with her dozing body slung in his arms. "I was making my rounds when I saw some scumbags try to attack her in an ally. She did something to one of them."

"What, you mean like mind control?"

"No. Something else. She animated the snow into water and shot it at one of them."

"Whoa! No joke?"

"Yes. She tried to do it again, but she was too afraid and she wasn't able to harness the power from before. I polished off the rest of them."

"Wow, bet they were surprised."

"Very."

"Did she tell you anything else?"

"She apparently didn't want me to know about her abilities. When I asked her what she did, she said '_Nothing_.' Then she thought I was a spirit."

"I'll bet she was scared." Batgirl shook her head sadly. "A slime ball attacking a little kid is the lowest you can get."

"It's lucky I found her in time. They were getting ideas about selling her. Probably on the black market with other human trafficking."

Batgirl's hand rose to her mouth in horror. "Oh my god."

"I get the feeling this girl is very important. We can't let her fall into the wrong hands." He handed her towards the woman. Barbara wasn't as strong as Bruce and the weight of the little girl tilted in her hands, making her hold on the girl awkward. "I need you to take care of her. Put her to bed and explain things if she wakes up. I've got her bag. I'm going to try and find out what I can from it."

Her brow rose with a mixture of disapproval and teasing. "Not one to respect personal property are you?"

"Goodnight." He said bluntly.

She shrugged and headed up the stairs that led out of the Batcave. It wouldn't be too hard to find an empty room in the mansion at least.

* * *

><p>Barbara returned after a few minutes.<p>

"Well I found a room and put her to bed. She seems to be doing all right." She looked over to see an array of objects sorted carefully over a worktable. They weren't at all what she'd expected:

A hand made doll with a real fur coat and white hair, a blue and white comb made from what she took to be ivory, a bag of silver coins, an ancient book, a wad of dollar bills, three scrolls, and a bag made from white animal hide with intricate turtle and fish designs.

"What's all this?"

"The contents of her bag." Bruce said leaning over her book and reading the scripture inside. "So far everything seems to be authentic yet perfectly new. The only thing that really sticks out is the American Money she has, everything else seems like a blast from the past."

Barbara pointed towards the book when she caught sight of the calligraphy. "Is that Chinese?"

"It's written in ancient calligraphy, but yes." He walked over to the computer and began typing in buttons. "I'm able to read modern Chinese today, but this is beyond my experience. I can make out a few words but other than that… I was at least able to translate some of it with the computer. Look at this." He brought up a copy of the first page and words began to translate the document instantly.

_This is the book of Won Shi Tong's basic encyclopedia of the physical world of benders.  
><em>_Translated by Proffesor Zei—head of anthropology at the Ba Sing Sei University._

"Won Shi Tong?"

"It means Great Owl Spirit." Bruce informed.

_Upon this collection is the knowledge one needs to know about the home world of the Avatar along with the Spirit world, which closely intertwines between each other. Within these pages is the sacred information about each of the four nations: stories, legends, and facts that have been collected into a basic manual. In the interest of protecting the world, I ask that this information remain safe, and share it only with the people closest to you. Beware, for those are many who wish to expose its secrets…_

Barbara's brow rose with the last bit. "Sounds like a real head scratcher. If that were really true, then why leave such an important document in the hands of a little girl?"

"Maybe because she was supposed to have it." He read the introduction over once more and mused. "Bending must be what they call the manipulation of materials. It says four nations. They must be referring to the elements."

"Say what?"

"In Asia, cultures have been known to believe that the world is made up of four different elements; water, fire, air, and earth. I get the feeling our little friend may be from some Asian based dimension."

"Another dimension? What, you mean like J`on J`ones?"

"He comes from another planet. I'm talking about a whole other plane of existence."

"Well then how'd she get here?"

"I'm not sure. I need to look more into this if we're going to get anywhere."

Barbara frowned at the screen. "Why don't you just ask her when she wakes up?"

He stopped typing then looked at her. "The thought never occurred to me."

"Right, you'd just rather go snooping through other people's private bags than go through all the pain of actually asking them any questions." He glared at her but she continued despite his disapproval. "Think about it. You don't know who this girl is, but you've taken the liberty of snooping through her stuff. Did you even try to ask her anything?"

"I told you, she wouldn't tell me."

"You asked her what she did, but she was probably so scared she thought she would get in trouble if she told you. Give her the night to sleep it off. You look like you could get some sleep yourself. I'm sure she'll tell you in the morning." She turned and walked up the stairs to the mansion. "The least you could do is put her stuff back in the bag."

Bruce hated to admit that there was a bit of truth in her statement. He would never admit he'd done something wrong by looking through a private bag. He'd done it to understand their guest better. Even as he thought this, the words from Barbara replayed in his head and squeezed their way through the many walls of his conscience.

He sighed and replaced the things back in the intricate bag. It was late after all; he might as well call it a night.

The last to go in the bag was the doll. He held it for a moment and pondered. It'd been a long time since he was a little boy. Even still, Bruce remembered how he was before his parents died.

Once upon a time ago, he used to have a stuffed bear, which he carried with him everywhere he went. Even if it had been decades since he was that innocent, he could still faintly remember his attachment towards the toy.

He took the doll with him. The girl was sleeping in the room precisely opposite of his own. He snuck in and put the doll beside the little girl. She took it in her sleep and hugged it closely to her as she'd done many nights before. Bruce's eye caught on something on her hand at that moment.

Very gently, he turned it just so and found an oddly shaped mark on the back of her hand. It was a thin white spiral he mistook at first to be a birthmark. Yet upon further inspection he realized it looked more like a brand than anything else. He wondered a bit about this and was even tempted to go back down to the batcave and start studying more from the book she had, but he resisted. Instead he would wait for the morrow and ask her in person.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so here's a new story that I've actually been working on for a few months now. Hope you like:)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
>Breakfast Conversations<p>

Yuki woke up in a strange room with no idea how she got there. The last thing she remembered was the Dark Spirit that had saved her and the strange battle tank he drove in. She didn't remember much of the journey; only that she closed her eyes and didn't wake up for the whole trip.

Now it was morning and she wasn't quite sure where she was, other than in a very big room. At least Yue was with her. She hugged her little friend close to her and got up. She looked and discovered her fur coat and mukluks had been removed and set aside at another part of the room.

No worries. It didn't appear that she'd been captured or was being held prisoner. She went to the door and opened it with her doll in tow. She was in an enormous house. Like the ones Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation nobles lived in. She walked around, exploring the house closer. Her socked feet padded on the ground while she looked around.

Wow! This place was much bigger than the noble houses she'd been in. In fact this house felt more like a royal palace than even the largest homes in some of the villages around Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation provinces. She wandered into an opened room and looked around. Judging by the vast collection of books, and the desk in the middle of the room, she assumed it was a study for whoever lived here. A large portrait of a man and a woman hung like a monument in the room. There was an inscription at the bottom but she didn't understand what it said. She might have learned the tongue of this land while she was still with her sister, but she had yet to understand their hand of writing.

She shrugged and moved to a different corner. A large glass cabinet, which stood against a wall behind the desk, caught her eye. She moved closer and inspected the many photos, medals, and honors inside the cabinet. A man appeared in all of the pictures. He was broad, with chiseled features along with blue eyes and black hair, and was dressed strangely, yet respectively in all of them. Yuki studied his picture, trying to find every tiny detail that would tell her more about this man. There were other people in the pictures. An adult shook his hand, a child smiled beside him, and he handed a big piece of paper to an old man surrounded by children. He was a nice man it seemed. Even so, she wished dearly that she could read the script.

She lost interest in the case eventually and wondered around a bit more. Any doors that were closed she respectively left them untouched; if not, she found herself wondering inside. She observed but didn't touch a single thing. Things like, "do not touch personal things" or "do not steal" were messages pounded into her a lot harder than they were with most children. At last she seemed to discover the kitchen and her stomach growled when her sharp nose smelt the ingredients in the cupboards.

"Maybe we could find some tea?" She told Yue.

During one of her journeys to the Fire Nation she'd met the retired Fire Lord Zuko who now owned a teashop in a small city. He was the one who'd introduced a fondness for tea to Yuki. It was funny to hear the old man speak such praise about the simple drink. The old Fire Lord was also the one to teach her how to play Pai Sho. She'd mastered both arts surprisingly fast, despite her age. She'd used her water bending to brew the tea, which seemed to have an impressive effect on it. Once Lord Zuko tried her blend, he announced that it was a technique to die for.

Yuki set Yue up on the counter where she could watch her prepare the drink without getting hurt. The little girl found a chair and searched the cupboards, looking for that pesky drink mix. What she found were some boxes with little bags inside. "Is this their tea? It smells so weak, but maybe it'll strengthen once I brew it."

She found a pot and went about preparing the beverage. She took a sip and, "Bleh! It just tastes like boiled down grass! Ee-yuck!"

These people had no idea what real tea was supposed to taste like. Lord Zuko would be horrified if he could see this. She searched the cabinets, using her nose to guide her to the spice rack and added a few of her own ingredients to the despicably weak blend. She tasted it expertly. "Ah that's much better."

A man walked in at that moment. Not the man from the photos but a different one. He was slim and aged, with a small white mustache and little hair. Yuki assumed he must be a servant. He was dressed for a long journey but seemed to just now be returning. He looked startled to see a strange little girl, dressed all in blue, standing in the kitchen, and making what appeared to be tea.

She smiled at him, remembering her manners. "Hi!"

"Um hello, little miss. I don't mean to be blunt but might I ask who exactly you are?"

"I'm Yuki. What's your name?"

"My name is Alfred."

"Hi, Alfred! Would you like some tea?"

He smiled when she beamed at him like that. He recovered from his surprise instantly. "Certainly."

She poured another cup and handed it to him after he hung up his coat.

"Just to let you know," she announced before he'd tasted it, "that's my own special blend of tea. It's a bit different every time, so I can't guarantee the flavor."

He nodded and took a sip. He was surprised by how flavorful it was without honey and lemon, the way he normally took it. "Wow, that's the best tea I've ever had."

"Then you're lucky." She hopped down and took her own cup to the table where she could enjoy it sitting down.

"I suppose Master Bruce is home." Alfred said setting his cup down beside the stove. "He'll most likely be wanting his breakfast soon. I'd better be getting started."

"Who's Master Bruce?"

Alfred was a bit startled to hear the child didn't know whom he was talking about. "Isn't the Master up yet?"

Yuki shook her head.

"You mean you haven't met?"

Again she shook her head no.

"Then what are you doing in the house?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. A great big dark spirit came and rescued me last night, then I rode in his battle tank and he brought me here I think. I don't' really remember cause I fell asleep."

"Ah, I see." He nodded, understanding now but saying no more of it. "Master Bruce must still be asleep then. Would you like to help me prepare his breakfast?"

"Sure. I'd love to help. But I only really know how to make two things and that's stewed sea prunes and tea."

"There's nothing much to it. Breakfast is a typically easy meal to make because Master Bruce prefers it relatively simple." He let her handle the toast and eggs while he took care of the meat and fruit. On the first try, she managed to burn it just a bit too much, but on the second it was perfect.

Alfred was so concerned about the little girl that he wasn't watching his own work. A corner of the plastic bread bag fell on the edge of the burner and burst into flames when he wasn't looking.

"Alfred!" Yuki cried pointing to the pan.

"Oh no!"

Before he could get the fire extinguisher, Yuki's hand shot towards the faucet and a long stream of water burst out, following the path made by her hand. The fire drowned in a puff of steam and smoke.

Alfred was so shocked, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond to that. "W-what did you just do, miss?"

Yuki looked confused, as if she was just as startled that he didn't recognize what she did. "Um… all I did was just a little waterbending."

"Waterbending?"

"Yeah. Haven't you ever heard of a waterbender before?"

"No, miss, I-I haven't. Are there others who can manipulate water the way you do?"

"Sure… hundreds of people. But most people bend fire and earth these days. There are only six people I can think of who bend air."

If Alfred was confused before, it was nothing compared to what he felt now. "Um from where exactly do you come from?"

"The Southern Water Tribe, but I've been traveling with my family round the world since I was a baby."

Alfred paused for a moment. He wanted to continue with the many questions bursting in his mind but he reframed. He had a feeling Master Bruce would most certainly want to hear the child's story with his own ears.

* * *

><p>"Master Bruce, it's time to wake up." The butler opened the curtains to the giant windows and a burst of painful sunshine flashed in the sleeping man's eyes, very nearly blinding him. He rolled over, shielding his face with his pillow. Then he paused, realizing something.<p>

"Alfred? Your back already?"

"Yes sir, I arrived this morning. And guess what surprise I found in the kitchen."

It was pretty early, and Bruce was still a little groggy. "Uh… I'm gunna guess it was… a mouse?"

Alfred almost looked aghast by the idea. To think he would ever permit vermin to step foot in this house. What kind of butler did the master think he was? "Why no sir. But I did find your new house guest."

_House guest?_ Then Bruce remembered. "So you've met the girl?"

"Indeed. The child was up fresh as a daisy and making a pot of tea, when I walked in."

"She was up?"

"Yes and that's not all." He handed the master his morning drink, which consisted mostly of condensed grass and apples. "While she was helping me prepare breakfast there was a bit of a fire."

"Let me guess, she did some magic water trick to put it out didn't she?"

"You know about it?"

"A little." He took a swig of his drink and continued his explanation. "She did something similar to some men who attacked her yesterday. I wasn't sure what to do with her so I brought her here."

"She mentioned you saved her but she seems to assume that Batman was a dark spirit sent from the spirit world."

"Yes. I studied a bit of her things last night while she was asleep. I'm willing to assume the child may be descended from an Asian based dimension."

"I wouldn't doubt it. But how does she know English and how exactly did she get here?"

"That's what I'm hoping she'll tell us."

* * *

><p>Bruce walked in with Alfred to find the little girl seated at the kitchen table, enjoying a plate of breakfast. She was having a bit of trouble managing the knife and fork and Bruce assumed she must've mostly used chopsticks until this moment.<p>

She looked up and smiled at Alfred. Her look was curious for a moment when she saw Bruce, then she smiled at him as well. "Hey you're the man in all those pictures upstairs. Alfred said your name was Bruce."

"You were in my study."

"Oh." She looked guarded suddenly, realizing that she'd entered a private room. "I wasn't supposed to go in there? The door was opened and I looked. I didn't touch anything though." She looked at him again and her face lit up as she abruptly realized something. "Hey, you were that spirit last night that rescued me."

Bruce was shocked. "How did you—"

"You have the same chin," She explained quickly, "and your voices are the same. Plus there's… something else too. I dunno what it is about you, but it feels strong—like an energy with that dark spirit."

Energy? Bruce always made sure to disguise his voice when he transformed into Batman. Yet she, a little girl who couldn't have been much older than six, was able to distinguish the connection when countless others of his archenemies couldn't, despite the fact that many have gone out of their way to study Batman's every move and strategy. They couldn't even make the connection with his chin. Harley Quinn once came close to guessing whom he was when she ran into Bruce Wayne. But being… well Harley, she couldn't make the correlation.

"I thought you were a spirit coming to get me like in the fairytales about the Ocean Spirit and Koh that Yuna told me about." She smiled, proud that she'd figured out all by herself how he wasn't a spirit after all. "But they don't have tanks so you couldn't be a spirit, could you?"

Bruce sat next to her. "What's your name?" He said after a moment.

"Yuki… of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Where did you come from before you came to Gotham?

She thought for a moment as if she couldn't remember. "I dunno. It was a name I've never heard of before. Some place called… Canadia I think."

"Canada? How'd you get here?"

"Through a tunnel that lead to the city."

"Where is your sister now?"

Her face got sad very quickly, and her shoulders stiffened. Bruce wasn't sure if she was going to cry. She looked at the floor. "I don't know." She answered softly.

Bruce didn't need further explanation to know that something horrible had gone wrong. "What happened?" He asked gently.

"Azulons." She whispered carefully, as if frightened one of them would pop up at the mention of the tabooed names. "Azulon's are what happened."

When Bruce tried to ask her more about what Azulons were, she wouldn't tell him. Whatever they were, they scared her enough that she wouldn't even mention them again. So he asked about benders instead. She seemed to relax with that.

"Only a few people are able to bend the elements. Sorta like twenty percent of a population."

"Only a few? Not everyone from your wor—from your land?"

"Course not. Although, the air nomads are the only nation where everyone can bend. It's cuz their monks and there's only six of them."

"Why so few of them?"

"Cuz of the Great War of Fire."

"War of Fire?"

Her brow lifted as if she couldn't believe what he'd asked. "You're kidding… right?" how could he not know about the War? The great war that was supposed to end all wars? He looked blankly at her. Then she remembered she wasn't in her own world any more. "Oh right, other place. Well I really can't tell you about that very well. Yuna knows more about that then I do. I guess the first thing I need to tell you about is the avatar." She cleared her throat and spoke as if reciting from a textbook. "The avatar is the human embodiment of the planet's soul. Master of all four elements, he maintains world order and keeps the planet balanced and peaceful. Least that's what Yuna said. I've never met him before."

Bruce wasn't quite sure what she meant by human embodiment. "What happened to him?"

"I dunno. He disappeared again a few years ago. Yuna says he died, but no one really knows for sure. He was an old airbender by the name of… Aang I think."

Bruce was starting to believe her story. She wasn't old enough to come up with a story this fathomable. Plus her waterbending was proof enough as well as the authentic artifacts she had with her. "But if he's the planet incarnated then…" He didn't like the end of that sentence.

Yuki wasn't worried at all. "Don't worry. When an avatar dies, his spirit is reborn into a bender of the next nation in the cycle of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. The cycle provides a natural balance, keeping any one nation from growing more powerful than the others. Although, it is sad if it's true. Aang helped lots of people. Yuna tells me lots of stories about him." Her eyes got wide with intense excitement as she explained childishly about one of the incredible adventures that he must've had. "Like this one time Avatar Aang went to the North Pole and, and there was a big battle against some Fire Nation armadas. And Aang, he fused his body with the ocean spirit and POW! BANG! FWOOSH! He turned into a giant sea monster and beat all of them into the water!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
>Shopping Trouble<p>

"Wacha doin?"

_Whoa where did she come from? _Bruce jumped nearly out of his skin when he heard the voice pop up right beside him. "How'd you get down here?"

Yuki looked confused, then pointed up the stairs that led out of the batcave and up to the main house. He had been sure to close that before he came down here. He'd asked Alfred to entertain her while he looked over her things some more.

Studying mostly from the book and scrolls she had in her bag, Bruce was able to make a few more discoveries as to the kind of world that she came from. He'd expected that the butler might take her into town to find new clothes for her, so he definitely hadn't been expecting her to appear suddenly beside him while he was in the middle of translating more from the book.

He heard another voice come down from the stairs at that moment; much younger than the old butler's. "Hey Bruce? You home?"

_Tim! What a relief._

The boy paused in the doorway. His eye caught on the visitor by Bruce's side. She waved as if knowing him. "Uh… hi. Whose the kid?"

"This is Yuki." Bruce smiled, patting her on the head.

Tim smiled kindly to her. "Hello."

Bruce continued. "She's going to be staying with us for a while."

"I am?" She frowned. This seemed to be news to her.

Tim knew that if a little kid was staying with them instead of with some social worker, this had to be serious. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later." He turned to the little girl, making his voice friendly and suggestive. "Yuki, Alfred's going into town to get you some clothes. Why don't you go with him?"

She looked at Tim then back at Bruce. Even for a six year old she could sense the conversation that was sure to follow once her presence had gone. "Okay." She sighed, despite her wish to stay.

She walked slowly out, looking over her shoulder and waving as she left. Once she'd gone and they'd heard the door close behind her, Bruce explained all that happened since the night before.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. But she really did manipulate the water."

"Whoa. No joke? Wonder what else she can do?"

"I'm not sure but I can imagine." He turned back to the computer and typed in a few keys. A picture of the scrolls popped up on the screen. "I've been studying from the other scrolls, but it doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean?"

"I expected to find techniques on waterbending. Instead I found air, earth and fire."

"Why's that so strange?"

"Yuki is a waterbender. Makes sense to give her waterbending scrolls doesn't it? But instead her sister gave her a scroll of the other bending arts. Why?"

"Maybe she's suppose to give them to someone. Or there could be some code written on them?"

"Or there could be another reason entirely for giving them to her."

Tim stared at him. Then he chuckled lightly. "What? You think she's the fabled Avatar she mentioned?"

The look on Bruce's face said everything. He turned back to the computer. "I looked more into the chapter they had on the avatar. The last avatar was from the Air Nation. You'll never guess what comes next in the cycle."

Tim scowled. "Water Nation, I bet."

"Exactly."

Tim still looked doubtful. "But that still doesn't prove she's the avatar."

"No, it doesn't." Bruce agreed. "So I studied more about this Aang, the last avatar. There wasn't much in the book about him so I asked her instead. From what I did find out is that he hasn't been seen since before Yuki was born. He disappeared for three years before her birthday and hasn't been seen or heard from since. We can only assume he's probably dead by now if he hasn't been seen for so long."

"It still doesn't prove anything." Tim insisted.

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No it still doesn't. But it's enough to assume."

Tim frowned. "But you told me to never assume too much. What if she is the avatar, and what if she isn't? Maybe she's holding this stuff for when the real avatar comes. We don't know for sure."

Bruce leaned on his hands and stared at the screen. He became suddenly alert as he struck an idea. "There's one way to find out."

* * *

><p>Yuki stared at the buildings at the car slid over the road. The city looked so much different in the daytime. Now that the lights were gone, it was as if the magic of the night had disappeared, replaced now with a daytime that had been dusted with a sparkling blanket of frost. In this world of snow, surrounded by her primary element, she felt completely at home.<p>

Her legs swung back and forth as she smiled at the driver. "Where are we going?"

Alfred glanced at her from his rearview mirror. "Somewhere to buy you some new clothes, Miss Yuki."

Yuki frowned and stared at her pretty fur coat. Handcrafted by her very own sister, insulated with snow-white polar molebear fur. Her broach had been made especially for her. Cast from silver and opal, it was shaped into a little turtle with the water tribe insignia carved into the back shell. It was clear the love and detail that had gone into creating every stitch of this coat of hers. Her mukluks, too, had been made with the same care and precision. "What's wrong with my clothes?" She asked quietly.

"Nothing miss." Alfred announced calmly. "We're just concerned because you didn't seem to bring any extras with you. When we get into town you can at least choose your own."

"Yuna gave me some money…"

"There's no need, miss. Master Bruce said that he'd cover the expenses. I have a feeling that you'll be staying with us for at least a little while."

That caught Yuki off guard just as strongly as it'd done in the cave. She hadn't been intending to stay with them. "Why?"

Alfred glanced back once more and repeated her question to be sure he understood. "Why are you staying with us?" She nodded. "Well I suppose it's to make sure that you're taken care of when your family comes to find you again."

"Oh. Well I guess that makes sense. But I don't mean to bother you. Yuna says it's not dignified to accept charity. And I don't know what dignified even means."

"It's another word for honorable."

"Oh." She looked back out the window, staring at the passing decorations that hung from the buildings. _So pretty_, she thought whimsically. She wondered if they had them up year round. They looked only temporary. "Why are there decorations on the buildings?"

Alfred looked once more back at her through the mirror. "I suppose you've never heard of Christmas before, have you?"

"Is that a winter festival?"

"Yes."

"Like the Fire Festival or Avatar Day?"

"I'm not sure. I've never heard of those before." He went on to explain to her the traditions of Christmas and New Years of this world. He was still explaining it by the time they pulled up to the first store.

"So Santa Clause goes down the chimney into other people's homes?"

"Correct miss."

"Isn't that called a B and E?"

Alfred chuckled a bit. "I suppose it is, isn't it?"

"And what if the chimney is too small?"

"Oh he has his ways." Alfred said mysteriously as if there was some secret magic spell he used to slide easily down.

Yuki wasn't convinced. "But wouldn't it make more sense to use a door?"

"For regular people it would. But Santa is magic, that's why he's so mysterious."

"Has anyone ever seen him before?"

Alfred smiled knowingly. "Many people believe they've seen the real Santa, but no one knows for certain. It's been believed that he only appears to some children on Christmas Eve."

Yuki smiled. She was starting to marvel in the myth as children often do. "I'll bet he's a spirit. No else could be able to sneak into someone's house through a chimney. Not even a bender."

"It's been believed that he might be an elf; a kind of spirit I suppose."

He opened her door for her and led her to the department store. She wasn't really certain about the style in this world, so she allowed Alfred and the nice saleswoman to choose most of her outfits.

They talked more about Santa and other traditions found here, but then her mind wandered back to the cave under the house back home.

"Alfred?"

"Yes, miss Yuki."

"Why does Master Bruce dress up as a dark spirit?"

Alfred dropped the box of barrettes he was studying and the contents spilled out all over the floor, making a horribly loud racket. The saleswoman next to them stooped immediately to pick it up.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry." Alfred apologized, stooping to help. Yuki did the same out of courtesy. They handed the rest to the woman who replaced it on the shelf and took their things to the counter to be purchased. Yuki felt her question was being deliberately ignored.

"Alfred?"

"Yes miss, one moment please." He handed the woman the money and left without waiting for his change.

"Miss Yuki," he began once they were safely in the car again. "I must ask you to never mention Master Bruce and him dressing as a dark spirit ever again."

Yuki was shocked. She felt she was in trouble but wasn't sure what she'd done wrong. "Why?"

"You don't know the danger of asking those kinds of questions around here. But I suppose that is our fault. We didn't explain to you the kind of situation here in Gotham."

"Why? What's going on?"

Alfred sighed wearily. How could explain the hardships of being Batman to a little girl?

"You know from last night, that the city is a dangerous place, even during this time of year. It's gotten to be so dangerous in fact, that the law enforcement can't handle the criminals by themselves. So Master Bruce has taken on a line of duty to take care of these criminals that threaten the order of the city. Some of the things he does, is not entirely permitted by the law, though. Master Bruce has many enemies and if they ever found out who he was, it would mean danger for us all. That's why I must ask you to never mention anything about him being Batman around strangers ever again. If anyone found out who he was…" He didn't finish that sentence. It was clear that the consequences would be dire if the information ever fell into the wrong hands.

She nodded to him. Yuki knew all too well the importance of keeping secrets. "I understand. I won't talk about it ever again."

"It's alright if you talk about it with Master Bruce and Master Timothy. I only want to advise caution around strangers. Try not to mention it if you can. Alright?"

"Kay."

They stopped at a different store for shoes, but before they could make their purchase, something smashed through the window.

Alfred ducked behind a hanger of clothes, pulling Yuki down with him to shield her from the debris coming through. He stole a glance behind the curtain and nearly choked with terror.

Clayface! Here at a department store! The monster crouched in the window display like a disfigured sculptor, uncertain what form he wished to take.

There were shouts and screams as people scrambled to get away from the thing that had come through. Alfred held tight to Yuki's hand, but the crowd pushed through and he lost the tiny fingers in the sea of people. In the few seconds it'd taken to loose the little girl, Alfred had been able to grow intensely terrified that something could happen to her.

"Alfred! Where are you?"

"Miss Yuki. Over here." The butler cried desperately.

People pushed and shoved and kicked others out of their way as they scrambled towards safety. Yuki's heart hammered in her throat and her breathing came out in quick gasps. She was being squeezed in the small space of the crowd and if she didn't find open air soon, she would panic from claustrophobia or be trampled under their feet. At last she found an opening and pressed past the many legs that bared her from that freedom.

She pressed against the wall, watching the many men and women fleeing past her in all directions. Soon the crowd thinned to reveal what had frightened them so.

She would never forget the eyes of that abomination so long as she lived. A man made entirely out of earth stood in the midst of the department store, morphing his shape like a shifting mass of mud. Yuki wanted to run, but she was scared of moving for fear she might draw attention to herself.

Was this another spirit?

Something else came crashing through the window, smashing into the clay man. From where Yuki was standing, she could see it was another man. He was dressed completely in a black costume with a light blue bird whose wings stretched on his chest and over his shoulders. He reminded her of a younger slimmer Batman. Like Bruce, he too had a mask on, though it did not cover his head entirely nor did it have ears but more of a beak that stretched a bit past his nose.

He flipped a handspring and landed in a crouch. "Going shopping today, mudman?"

The monster picked himself from the floor. "Stay out of my way, feathers. I'm not here to fight with amateurs like you."

"Amateurs?" The dark man's brow cocked with amusement. "Oh contraire, blob boy. I've been doing this far longer than you have been ugly."

The mud monster roared as he took the opportunity to attack. Yuki watched open mouthed as his mutated arm reached out and transformed into sharp metal spikes. The dark man dodged them quickly, slashing at them with a sharp black object. They shattered into pieces upon contact. Yuki watched with openmouthed trepidation as the battle ensued. It seemed apparent that despite his ability, the dark man was not likely to win this.

The mud monster's arm shot forward grabbing hold of the dark man and hoisting him off the ground. His opposite arm materialized into a long silver blade. He smiled as he drew it back, preparing to plunge it into the man's heart.

Yuki felt helpless. She needed to do something to help. She was nothing compared to a real master, but even still she searched for water. She saw a fountain and her hand shot towards it, tracing a way to the monster that gripped the man. It shot forward on her command and slammed into the creature.

The two toppled to the ground, yet instead of continuing his attack on the dark man, the mud monster turned towards Yuki. Anger flashed in his eyes and the small girl searched for an escape. She ran towards a door just as his arm shot forward again and his fingers stretched to the length of claws. They came down right in front of her, trapping her in like prison bars. Yuki summoned water again and slashed at the bars reflexively. They shattered into hard earth in front of her and she ran as fast as she could out the exit. She heard crashes behind her but didn't stop to check who was winning.

Flashbacks of a recent memory flickered in and out of her vision.

_A cold day. _

_Snow high on the ground. _

_Stabbing wind blowing in her face. _

_Her sister pulling her along to some unknown location in the forest._

_Her heart pounding in her ears. _

_Pursuers throwing balls of fire at her back. _

_Earth rising up in front of her, trapping her and making any attempt to escape hopeless…_

Her eyes blinked twice and Yuki found herself in an ally, uncertain how exactly she'd gotten there. She turned this way and that, trying to find the safest route to take. She didn't recognize any of this.

Where could she go? Where was Alfred?

She thought a moment about waiting for him to find her, but that didn't sit well with her. She didn't like the idea of staying in a dark ally waiting for someone who might not think to come search out here. It seemed more progressive anyways to look for him instead. She began walking out into the street where the light was brightest. The night had fallen fast during this time and the streetlights had been lit, casting the world once more into a warm winter glow.

She felt her fear lift at the sight of the pretty colors. Perhaps the world wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Bruce felt his phone ringing in his pocket. He flipped it on and pressed it to his ear.<p>

"Master Bruce!"

"Alfred?" The butler sounded positively distraught. "What's wrong?"

"It's Miss Yuki sir. I've lost her!"

"What? How? Where?"

"At the department store. We were purchasing a pair of shoes and Clayface smashed through a window. I lost her in the crowd. The brute went after her when she helped Nightwing and she got so frightened that she ran away and didn't come back."

"Where are you now?"

"At Payless Shoes with Dick. Nightwing took care of Clayface before the police arrived."

"Alright, stay there. I'm on my way."

He heard Dick on the other side speaking quickly before Alfred could hang up. "Bruce? Alfred told me about the girl. Why didn't you call the Watchtower? They could've helped."

"There was no time for that. I'll see you soon."

"Hurry okay." Dick urged, with more stress than usual. "It's probably nothing but I have a horrible feeling she's going to run into one of our 'old friends'."

Bruce knew perfectly well what he meant by 'old friends'. "With a skill like hers that's very likely. We need to find her before someone else does." Bruce's thoughts turned back to the whole subject about the avatar. "There's something else too, Dick. Something I can't explain over the phone. I'll talk to you later. Concentrate on finding Yuki."

Dick hated being told what to do by his old boss, but figured it was better to obey than to get into an unnecessary argument. "I'll go ahead and try to track where she went. She's only six years old after all, she couldn't have gotten too far."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
>Friendly Faces<p>

Yuki walked on, searching for something that could help her. She walked and walked and walked, keeping away from groups of men that looked suspicious and steering clear from opened alleys. It took hours and before long she finally couldn't go anymore. She slumped to the ground in a rundown abandoned building. Her eyes drooped. Then she heard voices; children by the sounds of them. She got up to investigate and saw a group of four or five children, a bit older than her, huddled around a dingy, little campfire.

Their dress was shabby and disheveled, and their clothes were definitely not suitable for winter wear. She came closer, sensing no threat. "Um hello?"

They were instantly alert when she spoke. "Hey, this place is taken." One of them (the oldest by the looks of it) snapped.

"Sorry. Is it okay if I sit by your fire?"

"No it's not. Go find somewhere else, kid. This place is taken."

She didn't want to argue with a bigger kid but she couldn't go anywhere else. "Please, I won't get in the way."

They looked at her. Studying her nice coat, white fur boots, and pretty broach. "What happened, rich kid? Loose your nanny?"

"I'm not rich." She said matter-of-factly. "And what's a nanny?"

They ignored her last question. "Well what's with the coat then?"

She looked down at the hide, dyed expertly in the color of water's signature color. She touched the opal broach, which her father made so carefully before he died. Why were people so curious about her coat? "What's wrong with my coat?"

"Don't only rich snobby kiddos where stuff that nice. I mean what do your parents do?"

"Ooo… pretty!" Said a girl with a pixycut and blond pigtails.

Yuki addressed the first comment. "My parents are fishermen. We're not rich at all."

They studied her for a moment and two of them exchanged glances. The leader shrugged. "Well… okay I guess. But stay out of the way."

She smiled and sat near a little boy that looked close to her own age, maybe a bit older. His skin was tan and he had dark black hair. "Got any food on ya?" He asked hopefully.

"Ooo, ooo, food yay!" Sang the same blond girl.

Yuki stared at them for a moment then shook her head. "Not on me, no. But I could catch us some fish. Is there a river nearby?"

"Not for another sixteen blocks." Sang the girl again. She looked maybe nine or ten and seemed to favor girly colors. Bright and flamboyant with scarves, leggings, boots, and big googly goggles. She grinned brightly at Yuki. She was much different than the rest of them. She had a light fun hearted way of doing things and seemed to know where sun was even behind the darkest rain cloud.

"You know how to fish?" The little boy asked with amazement.

"Yeah. I do it all the time."

"Well that would be convenient if we were by the river." Said the boy who'd first spoken. He had spiky blond hair and brown eyes with freckles.

The blond girl took the liberty to introduce everyone with her singsong little voice. "The spike head is Rico, and the little guy is Tots." She pointed next to a dark skinned girl with cornrows and a boy with narrow eyes and straight, black hair. "This is Magnet and Mercy. And I'm Pixy." She said with a big maniacal grin. "You never told us your name."

"I'm Yuki of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Yuki," the girl tested the sound of it. "That's such a pretty name." She squealed in a girly sort of manner.

"Southern Water Tribe huh?" Rico scowled with indifference. "Where are you from? A reservation?"

"What's a reservation?"

"It's when the government reserves ugly land and puts Indians on it. Tribes and stuff like that. You're from a reservation aren't you?"

"I don't think I am. We're there by choice. No one put us there. And I don't think the governments would be much interested in our land since it's all mostly snow and ice."

"You live in an iceberg?"

"No Tots, she just lives someplace really cold." Snapped Rico.

Tots wasn't interested in what the older boy had to say. He was more engrossed in the newcomer that looked like a winter fairy to him. "What's a water tribe?"

"It's the culture I come from. There are two of them. One tribe that lives on the North Pole and one tribe that lives at the South Pole, from where I was born."

"You were born in the Antarctic?"

"Uh huh. But I've only been there a few times for family visits. My parents were fishermen so I lived on their boat."

"What was it like?"

"Very nice. My father and mother caught all kinds of good food. And we were able to travel all over the world."

"So what landed you here? Where's your parents now?" Rico demanded. There was bitterness in his tone, as if he'd suffered something bigger. "Did they abandon you?"

Yuki stared at him, shocked by the mere suggestion. "No of course not. My parents loved me very much."

Rico looked as if she were rubbing the information in his face. "Well good for you!"

"Rico stop it!" Mercy snapped irritably. "You don't have to be rude to her. She hasn't done anything wrong." She looked back at Yuki, smiling kindly. "Keep going. This is interesting. I've never met someone who used to live on a fishing boat before. What kind of stuff did you use to catch?"

"Oh, all kinds. Salmon trout, penguin fish, seal turtles, squid, whales…"

"You killed whales!" Tots looked aghast.

Yuki stared back, curious as to why he looked so offended. "Well… yes."

"But that's against the law!"

"No it's not."

"Yes it is. I learned about it off of Free Willy! You're not supposed to kill whales!"

"Why?"

"Because their engangered."

"The word is "endangered" Tots." Magnet sighed. "But he's right. Whale hunting is against the law."

"Not where I come from." Yuki explained. She remembered well what her father had told her after she'd gotten upset when he killed a little fish in front of her. He'd been very understanding with how she felt. But he calmly took her in his arms and explained why he did it. Even now she recited his words. "We know the balance of life is very important. And sometimes it's hard to kill an animal. But everything in this world has a purpose, and sometimes that purpose is to sustain life for other animals by giving up their own. But their life is transformed into new life. That's why there is death. So that old life can make room for new life. That's how I was taught."

"Well it's a bad way!" The little boy insisted.

"Why?"

"Because you just don't kill whales!"

"Why are whales any different from fish?"

"Because whales aren't fish!"

"Yes they are."

"No their not!"

"Look it doesn't matter." Mercy said calmly. She seemed to be the peacemaker of the group. Yuki liked her. "Who cares! She's obviously not killing whales any more."

"Yeah. Now she's stuck in the slums with us." Magnet chuckled grimly.

"What are the slums?"

They all began laughing.

Pixy smiled to Yuki understandingly. "Okay newby, pay attention."

Pixy threw her arms out in gesture to the wrecked building they were in. "This is the slums, kid. It's the lowest of the low. The poorest of the poor. We all have our stories of how we got here. Some of us were just born unlucky I guess. But it's kind of fun sometimes."

"In this part of town we all belong to gangs." Magnet explained. "Strength in numbers goes a long way. This isn't our whole gang though. We're just a small platoon. We belong to the Bell Tower Gang."

"Cuz we live in an old church." Tots explained.

Yuki was interested in the way they make their lives. "How many others are there in the gang?"

"About fifty." Mercy answered. "You're welcome to join if you'd like."

"Thanks but there's someone I have to find tomorrow. I lost him today but I'm hoping I can find him again in the morning."

"In this city it's lucky if you meet someone twice." Tots said gazing up into the rafters of the old building. "It's so big."

"A city of infinity." Pixy rang dreamily referring to the enormous city.

Yuki nodded glumly. "It is much bigger than most of the cities I've seen with my parents."

"What other cities have you been to?" Tots asked with excitement.

She pressed her finger to her mouth thinking of all the fascinating things she'd seen in her travels. "Well the only city I can think of that would be bigger than this city—or any other for that matter—would probably be Ba Sing Se in the Earth Kingdom."

"Earth Kingdom?" Rico frowned. "Don't you mean China? Ba Sing Se sounds like a Chinese name."

"No, I mean Earth Kingdom." Yuki insisted. "But you should see it. It's one of the most amazing places in the whole world. There's this huge wall that stretches on for miles and miles and miles and seems to reach up right into the sky. It was first built to keep out foreign invaders and was made by earthbenders."

"I've never heard of such a thing!" Rico snapped.

"Just because you've never heard of it, doesn't mean it isn't there." Yuki said calmly.

Tots pulled on Yuki's sleeve curiously. "What's earthbending?"

"Earthbending is when people can manipulate stones and earth. I'm a waterbender so that means I can control water."

"Pfft." Rico snorted and began laughing. "Okay now I've heard it all. You're such a liar, kid. There's no way you can manipulate water."

"But I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can."

"NO YOU CA—"

A thin stream of clear blue liquid hovered right in front of his face. Rico's mouth hung open as did the other children's. Yuki held her hand out to guide it in a long twisted spiral then instructed it silently to splash on the ground several feet away.

Tots smiled and clapped his hands. "Magic! Do it again."

"Not magic, water bending. And it's an ancient art unique to my culture."

Rico scoffed under his breath. "That's a stupid power."

She scowled. "Why's it stupid?"

"What on earth can you do with an ability to control water? All you can do with that is splash someone. It's nothing impressive like Superman or Green Lantern or anything like that."

Before, she was trying to remain patient as her sister had taught her to do. But this boy had openly insulted her heritage and she couldn't just take such disrespect. She jabbed a finger at him. "You have never seen real power in your life! Water is the most changing, calmest, peaceful element ever! When we're angry we can summon entire tsunamis with the light of the full moon and can even saw strait through stone and iron. Water is so powerful it can smooth glass, clear away earth, and can even destroy metal. And when it's trapped it carves a new way."

"Well then if it's oh so mighty, why don't' you give us a demonstration on how to saw through metal."

Yuki stared. She could feel her ears getting hot and was quickly sorry she'd opened her mouth. "Well… I can't do that." She admitted.

"Come on." Rico insisted, mock ringing clear in his voice. "You just said water could saw through metal. I want to see if that's true."

"But… only masters can do that."

"Oh… I get it now. You're not a master, are you? You're just a no-nothing little amateur who can't even cut through metal. I bet you couldn't even make a wave if your life depended on it."

She looked into the fire and scowled. "I can too." She said quietly.

"Pfft! Yeah right."

"I can too. Just give me a challenge and I bet I could do it."

He looked intrigued by the idea. "A challenge aye?"

* * *

><p>"Um are you sure about this." Yuki was really beginning to reconsider his challenge. Two hours later the rest of the gang stood in the midst of an enormous restaurant. At first Yuki had been delighted by the sight, because it was like seeing home again. An entire building with the South Pole inside. There was a crystal clear lake with a huge iceberg in the direct middle of it and the whole interior was icy blue. There were even animals that must've been leopard seals resting on the ice and swimming in the lake.<p>

She'd been delighted by the sight of this place; least that was until Rico explained what she had to do.

He swung an arm over her shoulder coolly and guided her over to the edge of the lake, where high steal bars separated the land from the water. "Okay now if you've got the skill you say you have, then I'll admit you're more powerful than I think you are. Plus I'll even throw in a good word for you to our leader and if he likes your skills, then you're in the club, free membership and everything."

"Is that all?"

"Well you'll have to work your way up the ranks the older you get. But who knows? You might be a platoon leader soon. Or if your ambitions are sharp, you'll make your own gang and be stronger than all the rest of them."

"Really?"

"Sure, why not."

"Okay what do I have to do?"

"Simple. All you have to do is break that iceberg in half."

"What?"

Rico smiled cool and encouraging to her. "If you've got the skills you say you do, that should be a synch, right?"

Yuki had no doubt she could do that… if she only had the skill. "But that iceberg belongs to whoever owns this restaurant. I can't just destroy it. That would be wrong. And what about those animals? The break could hurt them."

"This is coming from the kid who hunts poor defenseless whales?"

"But that's to feed our families and to use their oil to light our fires. We aren't planning to eat _them_."

"I dunno…" he said sadly looking out at the animals who gave him angry glares and barked at him. "We haven't eaten for a while. Maybe some good leopard seal meat is what we need."

"I don't want to eat leopard seals." Tots whined sadly from behind with the rest of the gang. Mercy patted him comfortingly on the back.

"Okay look," Rico resolved coolly. "It's obvious that you don't want to hurt anyone. So instead of cutting that iceberg, I'm willing to settle just as long as you're able to move it a little."

"I just have to move it? That's all?"

"Yep. Pretty much."

"But what about the owner? What if we get caught?"

"Don't worry. It's way past hours. That penguin guy is sound asleep. No one will come and catch us."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Yuki bit her lip thoughtfully. "Well… I guess so long as I'm not hurting anyone or damaging property. I think I can do it."

"Great! We'll just be over here while you do your magic."

"Bending." She corrected.

"Whatever." He waved his hand impatiently. "Well get to it."

Yuki stared at the iceberg. Suddenly it seemed a lot bigger than it did a moment ago. She motioned her arms in the usual gestures it took to make a set of waves. They were really shrinky. She looked back at the gang. Everyone smiled encouragingly at her and Rico even gave her a thumbs-up. She tried again. This time they were just big enough to move a few ice floats where a leopard seal was resting on. It didn't seem to bother them in the slightest. She was getting annoyed with herself. Then Rico went ahead and offered his encouragement.

"Yeah that's what I thought." Ricco called sarcastically from across the floor. "See you guys, her little _bending_ isn't anything. If there are benders as strong as she says they are, then there's no way she's ever going to be like them. She can't even move a stupid iceberg. What a disappointment."

Yuki could feel the anger boiling in her with each word. Images flashed in her memory.

"_Come on now. You can do better than that. Again! This time I want you to freeze the water like I showed you."_

"_Yuki, that was wrong! Once more now."_

"_Remember this move. Are you watching, Yuki?"_

"_You always let yourself get too distracted. Concentrate already!"_

"_You need to learn these moves if you want to become a great bender!"_

"_What a disappointment!"_

"I. Am. Not. A DISAPOINTMENT!" She threw her arms out and forced every bit of her energy and concentration into moving that iceberg. What followed was far more than she'd anticipated. A huge water blade shot out and sliced its way through, not just the iceberg, but also the opposite wall of the restaurant facing the children.

The iceberg didn't move for a moment. Then the top half of the giant ice cube slid clean off, landing with a shaking splash into the water. The wave was so strong and so high, that it sloshed right over the edge of the lake on all sides. The water rose right up to Yuki's chest and she stumbled back a bit when it hit her. When the water had pulled back into the body, the restaurant was a disaster. Tables and chairs were upturned and there were large puddles everywhere. Not only that, but the wave had lifted the leopard seals from off their ice beds onto the main floor. Now they were hopping around and barking like wild dogs, excited to be set free.

"Oops." Yuki whispered at the damage she'd caused.

"AHHHHHH!" The children turned just as a squat little man dressed in a penguin tuxedo and top hat rushed out an entrance one floor above them. The expression on his face was enough to assume he might have a heart attack at the sight of his ruined establishment. "What the blazes? What happened to my beautiful bistro?" His eye caught on the children and for a moment he looked angry enough to be a firebender spouting lighting. Yuki only needed that one look before she turned on her heal and sprinted towards the way they came in.

"Ack! RUN!" She cried to the others. They didn't need telling twice. Magnet was obviously the fastest of them all and he quickly overtook them in seconds. He was the first to reach the air vent they climbed through to get inside the restaurant. He forced it opened and held his hand out to help the others who were still yards away.

"Brock, Teeto, Kevin. After those hooligans! Don't let them escape!"

Even with the head start, Yuki's tiny legs didn't get her very far. One man caught her from around the waist and he lifted her easily under his arm. He quickly snatched up Tots the same way. One man caught Pixy by one of her pigtails and caught the leg of Magnet just as he tried to escape before the others. The rest were escorted by their arms, or in Rico's case, the lobe of his ear.

"Ahhh!" Tots cried with terror. "Please don't kill us. I'm too young to die!"

They stood the children up in a long line, making them stand before the top hat man to await their judgment. But all the man seemed to do for a moment was gawk at the state his poor restaurant was in. The look on his face made Yuki feel even worse than she did before.

"My bistro." He turned to the children, rage flashing in his eyes. For a grown up that short, he sure looked scary. He brandished a black umbrella at the children as if prepared to stab the tip into their guts. "Alright you little slum dog miscreants, who sent you to vandalize my respectable business?"

"No, no sir," Rico started waving his hands franticly. "It's not what you think. We weren't sent…"

"Wait a minute," the man said, leaning in to get a better look at the kid in front of him. "I know you. You're that demented little delinquent, Hedgehog Rico! You belong to that thieving little Bell Tower gang. And these…" he gestured to the other children, "must be the rowdy little platoon you manage."

"Platoon? What?" Rico smiled innocently, which came out as more of a grimace. "No, no of course not. My name's… Fred… Flinston and these guys are just my… baseball team."

The man glared at him. "If you're going to lie, porcupine boy, you might try putting a little more effort into it." He stabbed the tip back in Rico's face. The boy's eyes crossed uncertainly. "I know exactly who you are. What I'm wondering is why did that fool leader of yours send a group of children to do an adult's job."

"No one sent us." Mercy piped up beside Rico.

"Indeed. Nooooooo one!" Pixy said deeply.

"Quiet, brat!" The man hissed without looking at her. "You have five seconds to tell me who sent you to vandalize my headquarters. One… two…" The man pressed something on his umbrella and a long blade grew from the tip, preparing to plunge it in the boy's eye. "…three… four…"

"Penguin?"

The short man growled under his breath at the sound of the intruder. "Grrr. What now?"

Everyone looked to see a very happy man enter the big ice room. He was paler than any man Yuki had ever seen and wore an ugly purple suit. He took one look at the place and whistled low. "My, my, my. What happened here?"

"Joker old man, I caught these little delinquents in the act of sabotaging my esteemed establishment."

The man chuckled a bit. "Well that's not good, is it?" He threw an arm around the shorter man's shoulders. "I'm sure I have something to cheer you up though."

"The only thing that could cheer me up is thrashing these brats into the dust."

"Even still, you might find a bit of interest in this." He leaned in, speaking low so no one else could hear him. Penguin's face lit up suddenly.

"Really? You have it?"

"Yup and I'm willing to trade in exchange for a tidy sum."

"Very well, name your price."

"A hundred grand."

His face transformed like a bad magic trick; going from delighted to outraged in an instant. "A HUNDRED GRAND! YOU HAVE TO BE JOKING!"

The pale man smiled. "Of course I am. What I really want is two hundred grand."

He sputtered. "That's outrageous!"

"Even still I have it and you want it, don't you?"

"You have no use for such a thing."

"No, but I know plenty of people who do. I could always sell it off to some zoo if you'd like."

His teeth clenched and it looked like he was trying very hard to keep from exploding. "Very well." He said at last. "Brock, escort my guest to my office. I'll speak with him in a moment. First I have to take care of these troublemakers."

The happy man left and Penguin turned back to the children. He pointed his umbrella at each one in turn. "Alright. You don't have a lot of time to live. If you value your lives I'd start talking. One… two… three…"

Yuki's arms waved and a large tide of water followed her hands and crashed into the men behind her. Penguin turned but there was no time before another one hit him in the gut, knocking him to the ground several feet away.

The children ran when they saw their chance. Magnet caught hold of Yuki and Rico grabbed hold of Tots letting the smaller kids ride on their backs rather than letting them run by their selves. Pixy giggled skipping and dancing around in sprightly circles.

"Drat, the brats are escaping! Quick after them."

But the men were busy trying to fend off the leopard seals at the moment. Yuki turned back to gaze at the animals. She couldn't be sure but she thought she saw one of them look towards her and wink. She smiled.

"Thank you." She said softly and the other children helped her into the air vent.

* * *

><p>They ran for what felt like a mile before they finally stopped to catch their breath.<p>

"Okay I'm convinced." Magnet said after they were done panting. "That was the coolest, neatest, wickedest thing I've ever seen." He beamed at Yuki. "Did you see the way you handled those jerks. And you only a kid, not even in school yet. There they were all like, "Ah look at me I'm so tuff. Look at my scary guns." Then you come up and POW! BAM! SPLASH! With your water skills."

"Yeah that was incredible." Mercy announced. "I'd never imagined you could do anything like that. The way you sliced that iceberg in half was nothing short of spectacular."

"Yeah you rock, kiddo." Pixy agreed with a thumbs-up. She did a little ballet move with her excitement.

Tots pulled excitedly on her shoulder. "Yuki, can you teach me how to waterbend? I want to learn that trick."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Pixy cried happily. "We could all learn. Please bestow to us lowly mortals, those magical tricks, daughter of the water?" She did a little bow to the girl with her palms up.

Yuki couldn't exactly place what it was about the girl, but she was definitely different from the others. Lighter, kinda like the old airbenders, yet even they weren't as high-strung as she was. Yuki liked this about her. Pixy's feet weren't tied to the ground like the rest of them. She was flighty.

"Well you can't learn waterbending." Yuki explained. "You have to be born with it."

"Your powers have gone from wimpish to freakish, kid!" Rico announced. Then he smiled slightly. "But I guess it was kinda cool."

"Hey, what about your apology?" Mercy demanded.

"What? What did I do?"

"Well let's see." Pixy said taping her chin thoughtfully. "First off, you didn't believe her when she told you she could waterbend. Then you made fun of her when she couldn't do it right away, and that was right before she sliced a giant iceberg in half and saved all our lives from those thugs. Saved us from thugs and bugs under the rugs… ooh." She twiddled her fingers in a spooky sort of way that made it seem like she was telling a ghost story.

"Yeah, Rico! You owe her an apology." Everyone nodded and glared at him, waiting for his humility.

He looked at Yuki, who only stared at him. Then he sighed. "Alright. I'm sorry for not believing in you and teasing you while you were trying to concentrate. And I'm grateful that you saved everyone's lives." He scowled at Pixy. "There, happy now?"

"It's a start." She smirked.

"What now?"

"I guess we'd better find someplace to stay." Magnet announced, as a cold breeze blew through them. Tiny snowflakes drifted from the sky. "The main hideout is at least sixteen blocks away and it's really late."

"Yay! Someplace with a roof, pluh-leaze." Pixy suggested.

"And a mattress." Tots exclaimed.

* * *

><p>A half hour later they all huddled together on a small mattress in another abandoned building, which used to be a hotel long ago. The floors above all had holes in them, but at least the roof was still intact as were all four walls. Another little fire was burning in a big metal can and every now and then one of them would add another hunk of wood to the hungry flames. Even the little fire wasn't enough to keep them from freezing. They curled against each other, sharing their body heat and trying to get some rest. Yuki curled in the middle with Tots on one side of her and Mercy on another. A long thin sheet covered all of them.<p>

Despite her surroundings, Yuki felt unquestionably safe. It reminded her of those winter days she used to spend with her family in the South Pole. Everyone scooted close together on cold nights like this one, course they also had furs and animal hides to help insulate from the cold. And yet laying here with the comforting breathing from people who she could trust, lifted the fear from her shoulders and allowed her to sleep peacefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
>A Vision's Visit and A Villian's Victory<p>

"Huh." Yuki looked around her and her mouth dropped open. "I was sleeping a moment ago. Now where am I?"

It was the strangest place she'd ever been. She sat cross-legged in a giant swamp with trees taller than skyscrapers everywhere she turned. There was an unnatural glow around her and the air smelled like green tea. She stood up and studied the place. Then she looked down and saw her shadow. In a single moment it morphed right in front of her to take the shape of a tall bald man with a white arrow on the top of his head. His eyes opened up and he stared at her.

"Hello Yuki. It's good to meet you."

She was more than certain she'd never seen this man before, and yet she could definitely sense something familiar about him. "Who are you?"

"That will be revieled soon enough. I can't stay long but I must tell you something before you wake from this." Yuki nodded and listened carefully. "You are in danger if you stay in this place. At all costs, you must find the dark spirit known as Batman again. He will help you."

"You mean Master Bruce. But why do I need to find him. Why is he important?"

But the man did not answer. His image in the shadow seemed to waver and dissolve. She stood staring at nothing. Then the world around her also began to fade away. She felt the world becoming brighter. And then she looked up into the light of the morning sun, shining through a broken window. Yuki looked around, startled by the change of scenery. For a moment she forgot where she was or why she was surrounded by a bunch of kids. Her memory jogged and she remembered suddenly.

She got up and walked towards the exit. She started down the stairs until she felt someone moving towards her.

"Yuki? Where is Yuki going?" Pixy asked from atop the stairs.

"I'm leaving. I need to find someone."

"Yuki is going? But why? Pixy thought you were going to join our gang."

"Sorry, but I have to find someone."

"Who?'

"The dark spirit who saved me a few night's ago. He had a long black cloak and white eyes. His ears were big and pointy too."

"You mean Batman?"

"Yeah him. Do you know him?"

"Everyone's heard of Batman but nobody except his team mates know him. Pixy has tried to find him with Pixy Program, but Pixy has found nothing."

"Well I have to find him. He's going to help me with something."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe how I'm supposed to control my bending."

"Ooo, ooo, Pixy has an idea!" Pixy announced waving her arms happily. "Why don't you come with us and meet Saber? Saber is good! Saber is the leader of the Bell Tower gang! I'm sure he could help you find Batman. Yuki is only a little kid after all."

Yuki thought. It _would_ take some help to find Batman and she_ was_ only six. She smiled when Pixy smiled. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Two hours later they all stood together in an old cathedral. There was a hole in the roof and part of the walls was missing inside, but other than that it was suitable for a hideout for kids. The entrance was guarded and could only be opened from the inside. A little door slide open and a voice sounded from the other end.<p>

"Password!" He demanded.

"Quarters." Rico announced.

"Nope! Password changed at midnight yesterday."

"What? Come on, Tony. You know who we are!"

"Sorry, pal, boss's orders."

"But we have to talk to him."

"Well I guess you'll have to wait for someone who knows the password!"

There was another voice on the other side. It sounded female. "Tony, come on. You know who it is. Let them in."

Tony groaned and opened the door for the platoon. Yuki heard him muttering as she walked by. "Forgive me for doing my job, why don't cha?"

They all entered the big stone structure to find a few dozen kids scattered around the building either working on some project or listening to a radio.

"Yo, Saber." Rico called.

A tall boy, probably sixteen or seventeen turned towards them. He had strait black hair and surprisingly green eyes that were marred by an awful scar that covered most of his left eye and cut down to his chin. He also sported leather wristbands and a shoulder pad over his right arm. Yuki thought he looked like a rebel.

Saber smiled at the newcomers. "Rico, you're back early. Did you get what I asked for?"

The younger boy shook his head. "Sorry boss, we didn't get to the museum in time. Guards spotted us before we reached the doors. We did find something a little more interesting though."

"Oh and what's that?"

Rico's thumb jerked behind him to point towards Yuki. "We found a new member for the gang."

Saber looked Yuki up and down. Though his face remained warm, his eyes looked disappointed. He certainly wasn't thrilled about another little kid. "That's nice, Rico, but I don't see why you're telling _me_ this."

"I know how it looks, but just wait till you see what she can do." He turned towards the little girl, making his smile friendly for her. "Go ahead Yuki, show him what you can do."

She looked uncertainly around herself at the many children who'd stopped what they were doing to watch the newcomers. Most of their eyes were on her now. She felt studied, like some ugly bug in a jar.

"Well…" Rico asked impatiently.

She mumbled something under her breath. "Not here." She said casting worried glances at everyone who she didn't know.

"Why not?"

She glanced towards the other children and hoped he would get the message. Rico seemed to be completely clueless, but Mercy (bless her heart) got the message instantly.

"Why don't we go somewhere a little less… crowded?" She suggested.

"Why?" Rico demanded. Mercy just glared at him.

* * *

><p>They moved to a more private part of the cathedral.<p>

With her friends' encouragement, Yuki performed her waterbending once more in front of their leader.

"Impressive." Saber announced eyebrows raised.

"Oh you should've seen the way she handled those thugs, Saber." Magnet exclaimed making wild hand gestures as he went on. "She sliced that iceberg in half with water magic action! And when Penguin had us cornered, she waved her magic hands and she was all like POW! FWOOSH! SPLASH! And penguin was all like—ACK! GAH! OUCH!"

"I don't think it was quite like that, Magnet." Mercy said calmly. "But he's right. She was amazing."

"And I need to find Batman." She persisted. "It's very important that I find him as soon as possible."

Saber's look was unreadable. "And why's that?"

"Well I had a vision that my shadow tuned into a bald guy with a big white arrow on his forehead and he told me that I was supposed to find Batman. I think he's got to help me."

"With what?"

Yuki tried to remember back to what her vision had said. "I don't know. But I'm sure it's important."

"Really? Well I'll tell you what," He knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders. His palms were warm and gave Yuki a sense of comfort. "Finding Batman isn't all it's cracked up to be. If he doesn't want to be found there's nothing we can do. Why don't you stay here another day and that'll give us some time to look for him. Is that okay with you?"

She thought for a moment, uncertain as ever. Then she slowly nodded her agreement.

"Great. Pixy, Mercy, take care of her okay. Show her the ropes. She can have anything she wants, kay?"

They exchanged looks, but nodded.

* * *

><p>Yuki stayed around the cathedral all that day. She played a bit with the other children and even joined into a game of hide and seek with Tots' invitation. When Tots accidentally spilled the beans to the other kids about her being able to control water, everyone asked her to demonstrate for them. She did so reluctantly at first (because she wanted to keep it hushed up), but with their encouragement, she proceeded to amaze them with more tricks.<p>

"Wow!"

"That's so cool."

"Can you do anything else?"

Most of her tricks weren't meant for battle, just simple little levitations. She did some freezing but not much because ice formations were difficult, yet even still, not nearly as difficult as steam. She couldn't' do anything with water in its gas form.

"To be completely honest," she admitted to Tots that day. "I'm not very good. I just know some easy tricks. I'll need a real master if I want to become anything like real waterbenders."

"But you're so amazing. I wish I could do all that stuff." He smiled at her and leaned in as if admitting a crucial secret. "Someday, I'm gunna be a great superhero. Just like Superman or Batman."

Yuki smiled. She admired heroes, like the ones told in old folklore or legends. Some of her favorites included past avatars but she also enjoyed war heroes like Lord Zuko or Master Suyan the new leader of the Kyoshi warriors. "Do you have any powers?"

Tots deflated, leaning back sadly. "No."

"That's okay. You don't really need them anyways. The Kyoshi warriors don't have any powers, but their amazing in battle."

"What's a Kyoshi warrior?"

She was happy to explain all she knew about the female warriors to the little boy. After her trip to Kyoshi island, and learning of the last Earth Avatar, she'd jumped with excitement to her mother and father. "I want to be a Kyoshi warrior when I grow up! I want to be just like her." She announced.

They had smiled kindly and patted her head. "Oh sweetie, you're already so much like Kyoshi now."

She beamed at that, and preceded to copy the stance and battle formations she'd seen the warrior women do earlier.

The day stretched by and Yuki played and ate and played some more with the other children. Sometimes she played dolls. She showed her hand crafted Yue to the other girls and they marveled over the intricate design and craftsmanship of the little friend. Then sometimes she helped with an activity, and sometimes she even stood by and just watched one of the older kids working because she was curious like children are at that age.

It turned out that Pixy loved to hack into different systems with a homemade computer she built herself. Yuki didn't know anything about computers or modern technology of that world so she lost interest pretty quickly and found fascination in other things.

She even beamed when she saw a group of boys hall in an evergreen. "Hey Yuki, we got a Christmas tree. Come decorate it with us."

Everyone gathered ribbons and little toys and anything else they could spare to adorn the tree with. Yuki was really starting to have fun and when they were finished the tree looked wonderful.

It was very late when people finally started to settle in for the night. Yuki curled up on a mattress next to Pixy and Tots like she'd done the night before. In her sleep she felt the edges of fear moving in on her and worry settled in that she might not find Batman. She felt she was wasting time here.

"Yuki?"

She was awake instantly. "What? Saber, what's wrong?"

He knelt down to her and smiled kindly. "Nothing. I think I found Batman for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There's a woman here; Batgirl. Who's gunna take you to him, but we have to go right now, okay?"

"Okay. I'm ready."

Saber held his hand out to her and led her away without making a sound.

Then she remembered her new friends. "Oh wait, I forgot to say goodbye!"

Saber held her back though. "No, no, we don't want to wake the other's. You'll see them again, don't worry about it."

She didn't feel right leaving them behind without even letting them know she was leaving. But Saber was older than her and he probably knew best, so she listened to him.

He led her down several blocks before they stopped in another deserted ally. Yuki stepped closer to Saber for comfort, holding his hand tightly. This one reminded her too much of the one she was nearly attacked in. Her instincts were on high alert now. This didn't feel right. Something was very wrong.

"Yuki," Saber said gently. He hadn't talked the entire walk since they left the cathedral, so she was a bit surprised to hear his voice so suddenly. "This is going to sound a little strange to you, but I need you to bend some water again. Like how you showed me before. Can you do that?"

That _was_ pretty strange but Yuki didn't seem to be suspicious about his request. She bent a blob from the snow and hovered it a bit in the air.

"Impressive."

The water splashed on the ground when Yuki heard the oh-too-sweet voice. She clung to Saber's hand as she stared ahead from where the voice had come from. A woman materialized from the shadows. She had read hair, pale skin with a green tint to it, black lipstick, and vivid emerald eyes. The only clothing she had was a leafy green bathing suit and matching boots and gloves. She didn't seem overly threatening at a glance, but even still, Yuki sensed something off about the woman. She moved closer to Saber, smiling down at Yuki like a snake about to strike.

"Most impressive."

"Ivy!" Saber hissed. "Now you've seen her abilities. Hand it over."

Yuki looked up, confused. "Hand what over?"

But the adults were deliberately ignoring her.

The woman sighed. "Well I suppose a deal is a deal." She tossed something the size of a pillow at him and Saber shook off Yuki's hand to catch it with both of his.

"It's all here right? All Sixty thousand?"

She studied her nails lazily. "That's right. I counted it myself."

Yuki stared from one to the other. She didn't understand what was happening but she sensed this wasn't just a meeting.

"Where's Batgirl?" She whispered softly.

"Sorry, kiddo but I saw an opening and I took it. Sorry you had to get mixed up in all this." He patted her head condescendingly. "You're gunna go with Miss Ivy now."

Her eyes grew wide. She shivered and it wasn't from the cold. "B-but I'm supposed to go with Batman. The v-vision told me…"

"Sorry, sweetheart. Sometimes things don't go quite as planned." The woman held out her arms as if expecting the girl to run into them. "Call me mommy."

A rock dropped into her stomach as she realized just what was happening. Saber was selling her!

"NO!" She shouted turning and sprinting down the way they'd come. Saber caught her before she got very far. Instincts took over for her. A blast of water shot forward and knocked the teenager hard against a trashcan. She scrambled away as fast as she could. A few more steps and she was safely out of the alley. She sprinted across the street without looking in both directions. The traffic zipped by, barely missing her as she ran for safety. Least it slowed her pursuers a bit. She dodged through crowds and ran without any real idea towards her destination. Anywhere was fine as long as it was away from them.

She turned a corner and nearly ran into a lowered ladder. She looked up and saw where the ladder led. Right to the very top of the building. Maybe she could loose them on higher ground. She began to climb. She was right on the second floor when she heard her pursuers under her. Yuki lied still and hid in the shadows, hoping they would pass by without noticing she'd disappeared. Her plan worked beautifully. They passed by without noticing her at all. The moment they were out of sight she continued her climb till she reached the roof. She stared around at the flat top of the square building.

Now where was she supposed to go? She looked, but saw no way of escape from the roof. It dawned on her that she'd only managed to trap herself now. She refused to give up hope though. There had to be some way off of this roof. She searched it, staying low and being unreasonably quiet. With every little sound, she dodged and hid behind a chimney or air duct. It was often just a pigeon or a mere rustle of plastic in the wind though.

This building sure was large. She looked some more. Her instincts perked unexpectedly and she paused when she felt another presence. She turned when she felt footsteps approach and gasped.

A huge man wearing a black mask with red eyes smiled down at her. There was a tube connecting to a cable on his left arm and winding its self into his mask.

"Ah so you're her then." His voice was strangely calm with an accent the other people in this city didn't seem to have. "Strange, you do not strike me as being very powerful. Your new mother sent me to get you." He shook his finger at her. "You should know better than to run off."

"She's not my mom!" Yuki shouted angrily. "And I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I'm not one to contradict people very often. But in your case…" He took a step forward, which was the equivalent to five of her own small footsteps.

"Stay back," she shouted, moving into a defensive stance. She tried not to think how shaky and unbalanced her footing was or how her voice cracked when she tried to sound brave. "O-or I'll… blast you off this roof!"

He smirked. "Quite the bravado I see you've got. But in vain I'm sorry to say." He came forward and her arms shot out trailing a jet of water from the snow surrounding her. The wave struck his chest, but did no more harm than a water balloon. The hit should've been strong enough to knock him down at the least, but he just kept walking forward. Yuki tried again but ended up with the same results. Fear had a strong hold over her after both failed attempts, and as she tried for a third time, all she got was a tiny stream, which splashed quickly back to earth with her lost concentration.

"Ah, I believe I'm beginning to understand. Your animation is influenced through your emotions. Now that fear has settled in, you're completely helpless" He strutted forward. Yuki turned to flee again but her foot didn't even touch the ground before the man caught her by the scruff of the hood and lifted her away from earth. She was startled when he embraced her. His arms were enormous when in comparison to her tiny body. They squeezed her and Yuki struggled. The breath was slowly being pushed out of her lungs. She tried to get more in but she didn't have the room.

Great spirits! This man was going to crush her! She kicked and fought though it was a doomed attempt from the start. She might as well have battled a god with the progress she was making. At last she couldn't take it. The world spun in a circle, faded away, and her body went limp.

* * *

><p>The moment she'd relaxed, Bane cradled the tiny child with one hand. "You have surprising courage for one so small. It will be interesting to see how Miss Ivy will raise you. Perhaps you may even be able to thwart Batman when you've finished with your training."<p>

"Don't count on it!"

The man turned and was surprised when a foot appeared in his vision and slammed squarely into his jaw. It caught him off guard but didn't harm him as his adversary intended. He stumbled back a foot and faced his opponent.

"Ah, very nice to see you again, Dark Knight. Unfortunately I am not in the fighting mood at the moment."

"Well then that's new to you Bane." Batman snapped crouching in a fighting stance and preparing to attack again.

"This is true. Even still, I am on a bit of a schedule, so if you'll excuse me."

"Leave the girl. You're not taking her anywhere."

"Oh no, I believe I am." Batman took a step forward with his announcement. Bane grinned. "Are you quite certain you wish to engage me, Batman. If you haven't noticed already, I have a rather important hostage. It would be less than simple for me to crush the life out of her now."

Batman paused. "You wouldn't be keeping her hostage if you didn't intend to use her for her powers, otherwise you would've just killed her now."

"Correct. But if she is not on my side, she will not be on your side. It would be more sense to kill her now, while she is helpless, rather than let you take her and influence her your way." He smiled, stepping closer to the edge of the building and preparing to leap off. "I'll leave it up to you, Dark Knight. Let me kill her now? Or wait to fight another day?"

Batman didn't move. There was no bluff in the man's voice. Bane had the upper hand without a doubt and if Batman fought now, Yuki would die. The man wasn't guarded by rules or ethics like the Dark Knight was. Killing a helpless child would mean nothing to him.

Batman growled deep in his throat. "You've struck a new low, Bane."

"Depends on how you look at it." He hopped onto the ledge preparing to jump. "If I smell you, or any of your little helpers on my trail, you'll be fishing for whatever's left of this little Eskimo in the river." And with that he turned and leapt over the side, falling the whole twelve floors down.

Batman rushed to the side in time to watch him land, with surprising agility for someone his size, on his feet. He sped off in one direction but Batman did not pursue. He knew one move to follow would end with Yuki's death. He hated to wait, but there was no other choice.

He grabbed the communicator from around his belt and punched a button. "Nightwing. I'm gunna need your help."

* * *

><p>When Yuki finally came round, she woke up in a strangely warm jungle. At first she assumed she might be back in the dream where her shadow told her to find Batman. But the last she remembered of that place were floating lights all around her. This place was strange but it didn't have any floating lights. She got up and dusted herself off. She looked up and saw the ceiling was made of glass. While it snowed and blustered outside, the inside was comfortably trapped within a warm bubble.<p>

Yuki was reminded of the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole. Though she'd never been there before, she'd heard rumors of the spiritual warmth that existed only in that small, special space within the north.

A hand shot out and tripped her suddenly around the ankles. She looked and nearly cried with shock. A long leafy vine had burst through the earth and wrapped itself tightly around Yuki's ankle. She tried to untie it but more sprung up from the ground to tie her securely in place. She couldn't even move her arms. She was utterly incapacitated.

"Lemme go!"

"Now, now, babies!" cooed a familiar voice. "We mustn't treat our new guest like that."

The vines unraveled when a woman walked into the clearing. It was the same one who'd met Saber in the alley. The vines released Yuki to rub against the slender woman's legs like little kittens. Yuki just felt like a bunch of snakes had been slithering around her. A shiver crawled up her spine and she took a step back.

"I-I want out of here!" Yuki said, rubbing her arms with fright. "I'm not supposed to be here now. I'm supposed to go with Batman! The vision said so!"

The woman turned on her heal, shaking her hips as she turned her attention to a large flower whose petals moved as if they were lips opening and closing. "You know Batman isn't as good as he's cracked up to be, little one."

"Neither are you." The little girl said with pluck.

The woman seemed to be trying to maintain an air of composure as she spoke. "I know Batman…"

"So do I!"

"Really?" The redheaded woman looked interested. Yuki smelt danger. "I wouldn't suppose you've been to his hideout, have you?"

_You must never mention Master Bruce being Batman to anyone._

"No I haven't!" She announced quickly. "But I know him."

The woman studied her closer. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the blue coat, braids, tanned skin, fur mukluks and watery eyes. "You're not from anywhere around here are you?"

Yuki, afraid to lie, shook her head.

"I can understand your alarm of being in a strange place and not understanding what you're here for. What you have is a gift that I've never encountered before." She turned to the forest which seemed to move and pulse like a giant heartbeat with her command. "As you can see, I already have some experience with what you're going through." She shook her head sadly. "You want to control that power inside you, don't you?"

Yuki nodded, frightened tears growing at the corners of her eyes.

She smiled kindly. "I can help you with that."

Yuki was almost convinced by the sweetness in her voice. Yuki might've been a bender, but she was still a normal little girl. She heard sincerity in the woman's voice at first, but there was something else, something behind the honey that smelt like… poison.

She stared at the interesting surroundings. "I've heard of benders that can manipulate plants. Are you doing the same?"

"Yes, in a way. And you control water. It was impressive how I heard how you sliced that iceberg in half."

Yuki turned her face down, ashamed. "I… didn't mean to. I'm sorry I ruined that man's restaurant, even if he wasn't really nice."

The woman smiled, coming closer. "Oh chin up, darling. It wasn't like you'd meant to do anything wrong after all. I heard how he treated you and your little friends. That wasn't very nice was it?"

Yuki shook her head, rubbing her arm guiltily. She thought back to the pretty restaurant and how closely it reminded her of her natural environment, then the look on the man's face when he saw his home damaged so horribly. She felt even worse. "But he had a right to be angry. I… wronged him."

The woman seemed startled to see how clear her perception of what was right and wrong. She placed her hands on Yuki's shoulders and knelt to her level. "We should stick together. You and me have similar abilities after all." She smiled kindly to her. "What's your name?"

"Y-yuki… of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Yuki; my what a pretty name. You can call me Ivy if you'd like."

The little girl nodded, sniffing. "Okay." Despite the fact that the woman had kidnapped and bought her, Ivy didn't seem offensively dangerous. In a way, Yuki was reminded faintly of her own mother or of Yuna.

The little girl looked up. She studied the woman's eyes. Bright green, with little dots of amber in the center. They were pretty, but there was something wrong with those eyes. Yuki stepped back, shaking the woman's hands off. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be here. "You don't know what this is. I need a real master, and you're not her."

The woman sighed, straightening to her full height. "Oh dear. You're going to be difficult aren't you?"

"I need to find Batman." Yuki insisted. "He's the only one who can help."

"Well unfortunately, dear Mister Batman and I are not on high terms with one another. So I'm afraid, you won't be going anywhere."

Something snuck up on her and snatched her off the ground as if she weighed no more than a rag doll. She tried to escape but she couldn't move, she couldn't even flex her fingers. She was utterly and totally immobile apart from her head, which was the only free part of her body.

"Let go! Lemme go!"

"Hello again, little one." Whispered a horribly familiar voice. For as large as the man with the scary mask was, Yuki couldn't help but notice how surprisingly lithe he was. She would've expected him to stumble and shake the earth everywhere he went, just like the strong earthbenders sometimes did. But he'd snuck up on her without making a single sound.

The woman cooed. "Thank you, Bane Darling."

"Any time, Miss Ivy."

Yuki struggled, trying to talk without gasping under the weight of his arms. "W-what are you going to do to me?"

Ivy smiled. "Oh don't be too scared. We won't hurt you, so long as you cooperate."

Yuki stared for a moment. "What does cooperate mean?"

"Cooperate is when you do whatever you're told."

"Oh—well I'm not going to do that." She snapped determinedly.

Ivy smiled. "We weren't expecting you to, sweetheart. Thankfully though…" she held up a syringe filled to the nub with green liquid. The light seemed to catch on the long, sharp, silver needle as a squirt of green liquid shot out when she squeezed it. "It's always good to have an alternative."

Yuki's heart jumped into her throat. She hated shots in every way shape and form, as little kids often do, but she'd didn't need to be a grown up to know that this one was really, really bad. If she could move, she would've struggled. Instead she screamed. "Don't! Get away from me!"

Bane forced her arm out for the woman and pulled up the sleeve to expose naked skin. Yuki flinched and her eyes watered when the needle pricked her. The green substance entered her veins and when it was all over Yuki felt a tingle spread quickly through her. She was scared, really scared.

"What was that?"

Ivy tossed the syringe aside lazily. "Just a little something to help you sleep. After all, you need to get your shut eye if you want to get any presents from Santa."

Yuki could feel the results of the sedative taking affect. Her vision became blurry and unfocused, and her head drooped. She wanted to be stubborn and to fight, just the way earthbenders were. But she wasn't an earthbender. She was just a little waterbender girl from the Southern Water Tribe.

"Where are we keeping her?" Bane asked.

Ivy gestured over to a well. "Here."

Before Yuki knew it, Bane had tossed her down the deep, black pit. Yuki cried out as she felt the rush of wind in her ears. Her breath caught when she felt something cushion her fall. She bounced up but when she fell back the thing she landed on, snapped and she hit solid earth with a thump.

She looked around. It wasn't very bright down there; in fact if it weren't for the light above, it would've been pitch dark. What she could see were some blankets and pillows in the small earthy space and that was it. She stared up at the opening, which now looked like a small sun against a black sky. She could just make out the heads of her captors as they stared down at her.

"It's dark down here!" She cried through choked tears. "Please let me back up."

"Not until you've learned to behave." said Ivy whose voice came out as choppy and distant when it bounced against the black stonewalls. And with that curt answer, a covering slid over the well opening so they wouldn't hear the little girl's cries of terror. Yuki saw a great silver ring of light when it closed completely, and then her world was plunged in darkness.

Yuki wasn't afraid of the dark, at least not when she was outside, and she had the stars and the moon to comfort her. She was a waterbender after all; her strength came with the night. But in the small space underground where there were no stars and no moon to light her way in the emptiness. For a moment she was reminded of those days she spent in the tunnel, walking and walking and walking. But this was worse than that. She did not even have the comfort of earth crystals to illuminate her world. She was utterly and completely alone down here.

"No wait." She groped inside her coat and felt for her little friend she had with her everywhere she went. Yue. The little doll that resembled the beautiful moon spirit was a comfort for her that she could not replace with anything. She hugged her close and felt in the darkness for the blankets and pillows around her, snuggling inside to form her own cocoon.

For the moment it was all she could do to keep from panicking. The sedative Ivy had injected her with was at last taking its toll. She felt utterly and completely exhausted. Since it was too dark to see anyways she allowed herself to close her eyes and dream.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
>Discoveries Made<p>

Tots threw another pebble into the river, watching it splash and ripple with hypnotic interest. He repeated the steps over again, allowing himself to become entranced by the waves created by him. Once again he thought back to Yuki who'd disappeared the night before with Saber. Their leader still hadn't come back yet and no word about Yuki's condition had been confirmed.

Tots was glum. He'd felt something with the girl that he hadn't felt in a long time. Her wonderful stories of benders and Earth Kingdoms, Water Tribes, Air Nomads, and Fire Nation had given him something he hadn't had in a long time. A wish and a hope.

Ever since he'd been abandoned by his own mother, he'd felt withdrawn and distant from everyone around him. Sometimes he'd sit by himself and let the wind ruffle his hair as the other children played. He looked at them off to the side and felt nothing in common with them. Then Yuki came and he felt like a little kid once again. She'd filled him up with stories and with bending magic and he'd ate it all up like he'd been starving.

He'd never dreamt he would ever meet someone with superpowers—much less a little kid. He always thought superpowers were only found in bold men and women like Superman and Wonder Woman. The thought that they could've been found in someone just as young as him was amazing. Yuki herself was amazing.

He stared longer at the water and wondered how she did it. He stood up and looked at the rippling liquid, thinking back to the moves she'd shown him.

"_It's all in the legs_." She told him the day before. She moved her arms languidly over the snow till it melted and turned into liquid. "_You just have to shift your weight through the stances like this_."

Tots moved as she did, repeating her words to himself. "You just have to shift your weight through the stances." Before he had been closing his eyes. Now he opened them to find the water just as uncooperative as before. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "Maybe water isn't my element. She said there were four of them. Lets see… maybe I'm an earthbender. How do you earthbend?" He looked at the stones on the ground and got into a tough steadfast stance. "Okay Yuki said it's all in my stance. Here we go." And he proceeded to jab and try to haul the earth into levitating before him. After a few minutes of flailing hi arms around he decided to just give up. "Well I don't really like rocks anyways. Maybe I'm more of a firebender anyways." The way Yuki had described firebenders had sounded somewhat like praise. She'd told him how much she held the old retired Fire Lord Zuko in such high esteem and had even portrayed him as something like another superhero or an idol.

"_Now when you firebend, you have to strike like you're punching through your opponent's head_!"

Well he tried that, he tried that a few times actually but nothing happened. No bright pretty lights, no warmth from the cold weather, no nothing.

Well he still had one more element, yet even he had his hunches that it would all end in failure. He still tried it anyways.

"_With airbending it's all about freedom. You have to let loose. You have to be light and happy. Remember it's a peaceful element. So you have to allow yourself to be peaceful yourself._"

"Peaceful element?" He imagined a person flying through the air as light as if he were made of feathers. He imagined himself floating up to heaven and running. Running faster than any Olympic sprinter despite how short his legs were. He imagined all the trouble, all the worries fall off of him so he could be light. A breeze billowed around him and he got into a running position. His foot left the ground and it was interesting how high it'd become for how little he was. Then he ran and felt the wind ruffle his dark hair. He looked back and gasped by how much distance he'd made in just a few seconds.

He stopped dead and wind followed him like a torrent. He looked into the sky and looked at his hands. He struck at a piece of paper blowing in the breeze and a huge gust of wind shot from him, snapping the parchment from the sky.

He stared at his hands, disbelief rising in his gut at the power he felt inside of him.

"I'm… an airbender!"

At that moment a huge blast of air hit him, billowing around him and blowing up dust so he couldn't see past his face.

"Hey! What's going on?"

The dust cleared suddenly and he found himself in a rocky field with mist and floating lights all around him. Not only that, but he was also staring up at what looked like a tall monkey looking thing in an orange robe and great big ears.

"Hello young airbender Tots." It said gently, in a clear human male voice.

Tots gawked at him. "Wow, who are you, mister? And how do you know my name?"

"I am Mou Mou, the spirit of the southern sky, young airbender."

"Spirit of the southern sky? Hey wait a minute, do you mean you're from Yuki's home world?"

"Not exactly." He announced. "I am unable to speak with you for very long. Heed my warning even still."

Tot raised his hand to interrupt quickly before the monkey Mou Mou could continue. "Um what does "heed" mean?"

"It means to listen to carefully."

"Oh… okay."

The monkey spirit smiled briefly and continued. "As the only airbender in this world you must seek out the avatar and teach her airbending."

"Wait Yuki told me something about the avatar. She said he was master of all four elements."

"Yes, and you must find her soon, for she is in grave danger."

"Danger!" Tots couldn't believe it. "From who."

"Many people I'm afraid. We need you to find her quickly and teach her what you know."

"Teach her what I know, got it." He nodded quickly, but frowned just as instantly. "Wait a minute. I might just be a kid, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. I just found out I was an airbender and now I have to go running off to save some avatar. I'm just a little kid. This is a job for Batman, not some six year old."

"Batman is on the hunt as well and he is nearing the ones who are keeping the avatar prisoner. However, his guidance will not be enough. The avatar needs an airbending teacher. There are no others in your world I'm afraid. You must find her and teach her."

"But…"

"Take heed child…" Mou Mou said before the boy could object. "…great misfortune has happened to those who do not follow the words of a spirit. You must do what we have said or face the dire consequences for yourself and for your world."

* * *

><p>Mercy looked at the stew she was stirring. Yuki had left with Saber sometime late last night. He'd told them that she'd left with Batgirl to find Batman. They were all sad that their new friend had left, but no one had taken it as hard as Tots. When Saber told them the news, he'd run away and hadn't been seen since. Mercy hated seeing her adopted little brother sad, but there was nothing she could do about it. He'd come back once he got hungry.<p>

Pixy sat next to her, fiddling with her computer program and zooming through cyberspace like an astronaut. Her program was more like a video game than much of anything else. Mostly because she used old Nintendo controllers to guide her progress through the vast universe of the internet. Her goggles weren't just for fashion as she liked to use them for, but also to become closer to her element of the digital world. There were screens right in the lenses to display the many programs, files, websites, and digital documents in pretty 3D orbs that resembled what appeared to be stars and planets. Whenever the girl wanted to open a file, she got her little pixy (a holographic cartoon of herself with glowing wings) to hack into the database and breach the many firewalls surrounding the program and…. ABRACADAVERA! She was in.

She especially enjoyed any files that concerned her favorite Gotham police officers. Pixy giggled as she found a document concerning a new case led by Harvey Bullock and opened it up happily.

A door banged somewhere and they both looked up to see Magnet and Rico sprinting towards the two. "Mercy! Pixy!" They shouted as one.

"What? What is it?"

"It's Saber," cried Rico, "he's gone."

That didn't surprise either of them. "Saber always goes off on his own." Pixy rang, zooming through her program without pausing to look up. "Sometimes for days on end."

"No you don't understand. All of his stuff is gone and his room is completely empty."

"What? He left us?" Mercy just couldn't believe those words. Saber had been the one to start the Bell Tower Gang. Why would he abandon them like this? Pixy put her program on hold and lifted her goggles to her head. Both the girls got to their feet.

"That's not all." Magnet said. "One of the kids, Hoody, is dead. He and Zita were doing their patrols and caught Saber sneaking off. They said he looked suspicious. He had bags and everything with him. There was a struggle she said and one of the bags tore open and thousands of dollars spilled out. After that, Saber killed Hoody and tried to kill Zita, but he only knocked her out."

Pixy's mouth hung open. "Saber's gone? Saber left us."

"He killed us!" Magnet corrected.

Right at that moment Tots blew in—literally. He ran in faster than an Olympic runner, trailing wind and air with him. "Guys!"

"Tots?"

He stopped in front of them and wind billowed around him in a big whirling torrent. "Yuki's in trouble!"

"What? What happened to you?" Cried Mercy, eyeing the effects of the trailing wind.

"Well I just found out that I'm an airbender and then I had this crazy vision of a monkey man in a desert and he told me that I have to find the avatar and teach her airbending so that she can restore balance—,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Magnet cried lifting his hands to stop the overly excited little kid. "Slow down okay. Take a deep breath and tell us slowly what happened to you."

Tots did what he was told, sucking in a great mouthful of calm air. "Well yesterday Yuki was telling me about bending and all and I thought that maybe I would be able to bend too. So first I tried waterbending and that didn't work. So then I tried earthbending and that didn't work either. So I tried firebending and that still didn't work. But when I tried airbending I started running really fast and I blew a piece of paper into the sky."

"Wait, are you trying to tell us that you're an airbender?" Rico said, shaking his head.

Tots nodded with animation for his discovery. "But that isn't all. When I found out I was an airbender I had this crazy vision of a monkey man and he told me that I needed to find the avatar and teach her airbending."

"Wait a minute." Cried Mercy. "You mean _you_ have to teach her airbending?"

Tots nodded again.

"Yay, yay, yay. Little Tots is hot, hot, hot, with twirling, whirling wind!" Squealed Pixy, hugging herself gleefully.

"But you're just a little kid." Cried Magnet. "No offense by the way. And you barely know how to bend anyways. How are you supposed to teach someone bending?"

Tots shrugged. "I dunno, but he said to do it or something bad would happen."

Rico turned from him, swaying a little with the onslaught of information. "Alright airbending, crazy visions, avatars, betraying leaders who kill gang members—this is all just a bit too much for my brain to handle at the moment."

"Betraying leaders?" Tots repeated with confusion.

"It's Saber." Mercy explained to him. "He's left us and killed Hoody. And he's got thousands of dollars that we don't even know where he's gotten."

Tots didn't seem as horrified as normal little kids would've been. He was still surprised to find them missing a leader, but seeing countless other people abandoning him before, this didn't surprise him in the slightest. "That's not all he did, though." He put two and two together when she spoke. "You guys, I think Saber sold Yuki."

Mercy shook her head. "What? No Saber wouldn't do that!"

"Why not?" Magnet said. "He's already kill Hoody and abandoned us."

"That's probably where he got all that money." Rico added

"There's something else." Tots continued. "Mou Mou told me that the avatar was in danger. You guys… I think Yuki _is_ the Avatar."

"What's the avatar?" Rico asked as the one who was clearly out of the loop of things.

"Yuki said that the avatar was… um…" he racked his brain to remember just what it was again, "the human version of a planet or something like that. She also said that he could control all the elements."

"But Yuki only controls water." Pixy added. "So Yuki could not be avatar."

"I dunno," Mercy interjected. "I was talking to her yesterday and she said that an avatar isn't fully realized until they've first mastered their native element. Yuki definitely isn't a master but there is always the possibility."

"Okay, so say she is the avatar," Rico pronounced, throwing his hands out. "What are we supposed to do? Go running after her? We don't even know where she is. This is a job for great detective like Batman, not a bunch of kids."

Tots stared at the ground. There was truth in that statement. But then he thought of all those mighty superheroes of the day and he thought of the world Yuki spoke of where even little kids held great power inside them. Why should the task of saving people be left only to adults with super abilities? Why couldn't little kids be the heroes sometimes?

"Yes we can." Tots cried. They all looked at him, surprised by his outburst. "We can save her! We don't have to wait for Batman or anything. We can do things just as good as Superman and Batman, maybe even better."

"Tots," Pixy was frowning, a very unusual thing for her. She tried to explain, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We are not like them. We are not super strong or fast or anything."

"We don't have to be like them. Look at me. I just found out I was an airbender—that's something. We all have abilities we can use to get her back. But we have to do it."

His words had a strange impact on them. They stared from one to the other, uncertain and afraid.

"We're just not ready for this." Mercy announced softly.

Tots puffed himself up, trying to be bigger the he really was. "Yuki told me that people our age have done great things in the past even when they weren't ready. She told me that a boy who was hardly twelve years old could fight the baddest man in the world and win. Well we're not going up against the baddest man in the world—least I hope we aren't—but we can do this. We can rescue Yuki—we… need her."

They all looked at one another. What could they do? His words were true but would they ever be able to really find Yuki? And if they did, what would happen? What could they do once they did? How would they be able to fight?

They were only kids after all.

* * *

><p>Yuki's time in the dark felt like days. Occasionally food was dropped down, but other than that she saw light very irregularly. It was warm down here so within a few hours she'd discarded her boots and coat off to the side. Absently she'd touched her fingers to the hard coarse stone. It was strange, but she could almost feel the things around her through the earth. She moved her hand, sensing vibrations like and echo detector. It was pitch black and yet she could somehow still see. She may yet see even better than before.<p>

She hit the ground with a fist, sending sensitive vibrations running through her limbs. She stood and the vibrations were even clearer against her bare feet. She could see everything within this hole: the blankets, her coat and boots, she could almost even see within the stone. She sensed, a bottle cap, animal bones, something large, which might've been a big boulder, and a wooden chest sort of thing. She hit the ground again sending off more vibrations. It made everything even clearer than before. Yuki wondered if she would be able reach out with this newfound power and see what was going on up above.

She hit the ground and the vibrations went ten feet away. She tried harder and was able to see up through the plant roots that filled the packed earth. She hit again but didn't get any farther. She stood up and touched the wall of the well with both hands. Using both her feet and hands, she struck the ground at the same time. The vibrations carried further, much further. She caught a glimpse of her captors speaking to one another before the tremors ceased. She breathed deep and struck again, reaching out further, trying to sense them without having to strike so much.

They were talking to one another. It was easy for her to distinguish the dramatic difference in physique between the two people; the hulking, heavy footfalls of Bane and the light willowy steps of Ivy. If only she knew what they were saying. Bane moved closer to Ivy and grabbed her from behind.

Were they fighting?

Her echo detector didn't pick up details or definite points of sight but she could feel their muscles contracting. She could also feel an increase in their heartbeats and breathing.

What were they doing up there?

When it became apparent that they really weren't doing anything much interesting she sat on the ground again and thought.

About three things she was absolutely certain about.

1. She was imprisoned down a well by two notorious people, with not much chance of escaping.

2. She had developed some sort of sonic detector thing that let her see in the dark by feeling vibrations in the ground.

And 3. She needed to find Batman if she hoped to ever control her bending.

"What are we going to do, Yue?" She said holding the little doll close to her chest. "No one knows where we are. And I don't think we'll ever get out of here. If only you were really the moon spirit. Then you could tell Batman where we are by using your lunar powers to send a message to him." She knew the likelihood of such a thing ever happening was a chance in a million, but still, it didn't hurt to dream. And at the moment that was all the little girl could depend on.

* * *

><p>"Batman," He heard the voice behind him and caught Robin and Batgirl swinging from a tall building to the one they perched on. "We got here as soon as we got your message."<p>

Batman stood with Nightwing on the edge of a skyscraper.

"So what's the news?" Robin said coming up behind them.

"Yuki's been kidnapped by Bane." Batman said studying the footprints in the ground. "He's also working with Poison Ivy. Apparently she's the mastermind behind all this."

"Bane and Poison Ivy." Batgirl said weighing the possible outcome mentally. "That's a potent mix."

"Just another one of Gotham's newest couples." Nightwing muttered sarcastically.

"It's easy to know why Poison Ivy would be interested in Yuki, but why Bane?"

"Who wouldn't be?" Batman said. "With powers like hers it would be simple to influence her at such a young age. This is a ripe opportunity for anyone seeking some power."

Robin shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. So do we know where they are?"

"Almost." Batman announced looking through a pair of high-tech binoculars. "Bane will want to work with surprise on his side, but Ivy won't step out of her element if she can help it."

"And in this weather it'll be hard for her to find a good source for plants."

"She'll need a greenhouse… someplace warm." Nightwing added.

"Well, we'd better start marking off some hits?"

"Well it's been two days now and so far nothing." Batgirl said to Batman on the third night of their search.

"We can't give up now. There's still one more hit we have to try. It's a green house called Green Thumb Valley. It's about thirty miles out of city limits."

"Well guess we should try it." Batgirl turned to Batmobile taking the passenger's seat. "So where are the boys tonight?"

"They're making their rounds tonight, but their standing by incase we need help."

A half hour later the two stood to look at a perfectly round greenhouse that was at least four stories high. It was like looking into a warm green bubble surrounded by a snowy haze.

Batman adjusted the range of his binoculars and spotted strange and exotic plants inside the green house. "Now that's interesting."

"What?"

"There's an interesting assortment of rare and exotic plants in there. Some of which I've never seen before."

Batgirl sighed, smiling slightly. "Looks like this is the place."

"Looks like." Batman agreed returning his gadget to his belt. "Lets go."

Yuki lied in the darkness, falling into a restful sleep again when suddenly her feet felt a new assortment of vibrations. She knelt to the ground to better feel it through her hands. There was a fight going on up there. She could sense another masculine body with great muscles, though not as impressive as Bane's, and she also picked up another female figure. Yuki pounded the ground, trying to send off more vibrations to help her see.

She listened but the vibrations were fading. What was going on up there? Suddenly the vibrations stopped all together and she waited with growing trepidation for something to happen.

Then light erupted from over head, and Yuki was blinded momentarily.

"Yuki? Are you down there? Are you alright?"

"Batman?" Yuki felt elation and relief fill at the sound of his gruff yet comforting voice.

"Hang on we're going to get you out of there."

Yuki quickly grabbed her coat and boots, flinging them on and stuffing Yue in her inside pocket where she would be safe. A rope descended quickly down the next minute.

"Grab the rope, Yuki and we'll lift you out of there." Yuki did as she was told and immediately felt the rush of being lifted out the moment she touched the rope. Her hands very nearly slipped as she was nearing the opening. Before she knew it though, she was blinking harshly in bright blinding light.

"Are you okay?"

She looked up and saw the masked face of Batman. The very person she'd been so desperate to find since she'd gotten separated from Alfred in the department store. She hugged him quickly, afraid he might up and disappear like he always did in her dreams.

"I had a vision," was the first thing she said to him when she pulled away. She went on to explain without pausing. "My shadow turned into a bald guy with an arrow on his head and he said that I needed to find you quick because you're supposed to help me with something."

"We can talk about that later." Batman said quickly. "Let's just concentrate on getting you out of here."

"Oh I don't think so."

Yuki was thrown suddenly out of the way as something the size of a small building collided with the masked hero. Yuki stared in horror as the giant Bane came pummeling out of nowhere and began raining blows and punches on every inch of the good guy. Yuki stood, searching for a water source.

There! A little pond.

She reached out for it, trailing a path like a leash on an animal, guiding it to the foe. It slammed into him, drenching him from head to foot. He stumbled a bit but didn't appear to be harmed. At least it was enough to distract him while Batman snuck up from behind with a blade and cut through the tube connecting to his head.

Bane roared as the venom was slowly being drained out of his muscles. His furry was only temporary as Batman swung a back kick into his jaw, which sent his head banging into the well stones and knocking him out cold.

Silence rained and Yuki got to her feet, feeling that the worst was over. She saw Batman look in her direction and she smiled with relief. Suddenly his white eyes caught on something moving above her and he leapt forward attempting to try and protect her. But too late.

Yuki looked up just in time to see large teeth encircle her and a long slimy tong whip out to lick her. Then the world went dark.

* * *

><p>Batman nearly didn't believe it. He watched with open mouthed horror as the giant venues fly trap came out of nowhere and ate up the tinny girl before him with a single resounding snap of its mouth.<p>

He could here Ivy's voice behind him, cooing sweetly to the plant in question. "Thank you for that, baby."

Before he could turn on her with stone hard furry, something inside the plant began to happen. Its throat expanded and then it shriveled up and died with a high inhuman scream.

"My baby!" Ivy cried with horror.

Batman stared longer. It was Yuki, suspended within a floating ball of swirling blue water. She lowered to the ground and vines immediately grabbed for her. With a quick wave of her hands the vines dried into dust as the water was sucked from them. Batman heard their last screams as life was pulled out of them with a sharp and sudden _SNAP_. Yuki's arms waved over the rest of the green house and in an instant, every plant inside was relieved of all liquid. The remaining moisture surrounded Yuki in a turning vortex of blue water.

Ivy was mortified at the genocide that entailed in a single moment. She clutched at her red scalp as she stared at the bubble of water.

"No. No. NO!" By the look on her face, this was the worst thing she'd ever witnessed by far.

Batman looked back at Yuki and saw her eyes glow white hot with raw, raging power. He knew at that moment, without any doubt, that this was the newly realized avatar.

The water stayed around Yuki for a moment longer, then her arm drew back slowly causing the water to slow its turning as it waited for her command. Her arm shot forward suddenly in a karate chopping motion, and the water followed, slamming into the green house wall in all directions and destroying it in a watery explosion.

Before the explosion could go off though, Batman ran to Batgirl, knocking her to the ground and shielding them both behind the well as the typhoon of energy passed over them.

He waited as silence enveloped them. And when all was safe, he lifted his head and looked over in time to see Yuki's eyes close before she fell to the ground in exhaustion.

He got up and ran to her side wondering if she would be all right.

"Yuki?" He whispered flipping her over and patting her face gently. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him tiredly.

"What happened?" She said in a croaky voice.

"I'll tell you later. Lets get out of here before something else can happen." He swung her in his arms and ran to the Batmobile with Batgirl at his heels.

Yuki was asleep before they'd even gotten there. Tired from using the dormant powers of the avatar state, she'd drifted off before they could get her inside where it was warm. Yuki sat in Batgirl's lap as they coasted down the road back to headquarters, where they could discuss things better with Nightwing and Robin present.

But Batgirl couldn't sustain her amazement. "How on earth did she do that? That was the most amazing thing I ever saw. Even more incredible than Superman or Wonder Woman. It was almost… magical in a sort of terrifying destructive sort of way."

"I believe we're looking at the new avatar." Batman said, looking at her from the corner of his eye.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
>Teller of a different Tale<p>

Tots touched the ground, bending low and trying to read the signs of the earth like a bloodhound reads the signs of a scent. He tried sniffing like one too but only managed to smell what everyone else smelled… smog and snow. About an hour had gone by and he'd led the five of them to an empty ally, where he'd said was certainly the place where Yuki had been.

Magnet sighed as Tots tried to scour the ground for clues. "Forget it Tots. It's been two whole days. The trail is ice cold by now. We're never going to find her this way."

"Cold, told, scold, bold." Pixy rhymed hopping on a trashcan and looking gloomy.

"But I just know she was here." Tots exclaimed from where he knelt on the ground. His head bend back and he flexed his fingers like a mad scientist. "I can feel her energy!" He announced in a deep dramatic voice.

"All I feel is really cold." Rico mumbled shivering as a wind blew through him. "Not to mention starving. Isn't it about dinner time?"

Tots glared at him. "How can you be thinking about food right now when the world is in danger?"

"Hey I'm just a simple guy with simple needs."

"It probably wouldn't hurt to get something." Mercy added. "We could find a convenience store and get a snack."

"No money!" Pixy said glumly falling to her back on the lid.

"We could find someone who does and snag their wallet." Magnet suggested.

"There aren't many people on the streets tonight though." Rico said, speaking about the cold.

"It won't take long. You guys can distract them and I'll…"

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?"

They all jumped when they heard the little boy shout at them. He was standing strait and tall with an expression none of them had ever seen on him before. Tots was positively furious.

"How can you be thinking about food and about stealing wallets at a time like this?" The air shook around the little boy, making a great whirlwind around him, which picked up snow and stray pieces of garbage and paper. It grew in size as the little boy's anger increased. He pointed somewhere towards an unknown place. "Yuki's out there scared and all alone right now and you all don't even care that she might be hurt."

"Tots," Mercy said trying to calm him down, "we do care. We're just—,"

"JUST WHAT? HUNGRY? COLD?" Tots was beyond reasoning with by now. "Well fine. If you guys would rather go and pickpocket then I guess I'll go and find her by myself."

"Tots you can't go off all by yourself." Mercy shouted. Everyone knew the danger one stepped into if they chose to walk the city streets alone. Especially if that person was a little kid. There were thugs, gangsters, drug dealers and all kinds of dirty scoundrels who would love to take advantage of a little kid like Tots.

"You're wrong Mercy." Tots said quickly. "I'm not just a little kid anymore. I'm an airbender now."

"Yes you are an airbender." Mercy agreed, hoping to calm him down. "And Yuki is a waterbender, but that didn't stop Saber from selling her, did it. Or stop who ever took her away. My point is, even if you have super cool powers now, you need to stay with us because you still don't know how to control them. And like it or not, you are still _onl_y six years old."

"But—,"

"Please stay with us," Mercy added. "We need you just as much as you need us. We didn't mean any harm by it when we said we wanted something to eat. We just need to keep are strength up so we can keep searching. Besides, all that airbending has to be fueled some how. How do you expect to beat up any bad guys when you don't have any energy?"

Tots looked at the ground. "Well… I guess that makes sense. But what about Yuki."

"Tots shouldn't worry," Pixy said. "Yuki will be fine cuz we'll all help find her. And we'll let Tots lead the way."

"I think _I_ can better assist you with that, children."

They all jumped when they heard the adult voice suddenly in front of them. Their heads whipped up to gaze into the shadows from where it came from. Two men materialized right out of the darkness and stood before them.

The one who was clearly older was dressed in a flowing green cloak with a goatee and two white streaks running through his midnight hair. He couldn't have been much older than forty, yet the children could feel something definitely… ancient about him. The second man was burly and bald with a disposition that read he would fight and die for his master at any cost, and kill anyone who stood in his way.

"I believe children I have something you can use in your search for your friend."

"Hey! Who are you?" Rico snapped taking a fighting stance as if prepared to protect his friends if these men showed any signs of threat.

"If you'll permit me, I believe introductions are in order; my name is Ra's Al Ghul." The master said quickly.

"Ras Al what?" Magnet repeated with disregard.

"Ra's Al Ghul." The man repeated a bit more clearly.

"Ooh! Like a ghost!" Pixy said, waving her fingers spookily.

"I'm Tots." Tots piped, looking around Rico's elbow. The older boy looked at the little one beside him for a moment but was quick to continue.

"Uh huh," Rico raise an eye brow, "and what exactly does some rich jerk want with us."

The bald man looked furious with Rico's disrespect. "Infidel! If you only knew who you were speaking to…"

"Leave them, Ubu. They are only children after all."

The bald man still looked angry, but subsided with his master's command. Ra's Al Ghul came closer.

The man turned to the youngest of them, and surprise of surprises, the tall, regal man, bowed to the little boy. "It is a great privilege to meet one of the noble air nation. This world has not seen one for nearly an entire millennia."

While the other children seemed to shrink away from the strange and foreign man, Tots stood his ground. He got the same feeling from this man as he did with Yuki; an old and young sort of feeling at the same time. "Are you a bender?" He said quietly, awed by the energy he could feel coming from him in great waves. He knew there was much wisdom in this man.

The man shook his head in answer to his question. "No. I am not blessed like you or one of your people, but I know of you and of your avatar."

Tots's face lit up at the news. "You know where to find Yuki?"

"Yes. If you come with me I will take you to her."

"Wait a minute." Rico snapped, stepping in front of the little boy as if to protect him from the same threat that snared their friend. "How do we know _you_ didn't take Yuki? If you know where she is just like that—sounds a little fishy if you ask me. I bet you did take her, and now you want to take Tots away too, cause he's an airbender. Well forget it! We're not going anywhere with some creep and his thug."

Tots tugged on Rico's sleeve. He pleaded to the other boy with his big, gray eyes. "But he knows where Yuki is."

"No he doesn't, Tots. He's trying to trick us." He spoke in a hiss so only Tots's would hear. "Don't trust adults remember." Tots pursed his lips, lost in his own memories. After a moment he nodded.

Ra's Al Gul continued. "I did not take your friend, but I know who did."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Magnet said sarcastically.

"One of my servants spotted your friend walking down this street in the company of a tall youth of about sixteen or seventeen. Here he met a woman who offered him a substantial amount of money. You know her as Poison Ivy."

Pixy perked instantly with the information. She was fascinated by the red headed beauty despite the fact that she was an eco terrorist. In fact, she, besides Batman, knew probably everything about her "Ooh! Poison Ivy? Scary!"

"You know of her then."

Pixy nodded happily. "Pixy has done lots of research on Poison Ivy and has a whole disk copied for everything about her. She usually works alone except for Harley Quinn, which she's adapted somewhat of a sisterly relationship with her. She has evolved to form immunity to toxins and poisons as well an ability to control plants using her own secret biotechnology. So of course she would be interested in Yuki. With Yuki's ability to control water…"

"…Then Poison Ivy could control anything by influencing her." Mercy finished for her.

"Precisely." Ra's pronounced. "The woman is insane and the girl is unfortunately helpless against her. Thankfully though, I believe she still only knows Yuki controls water and that's it. She is not aware of what an avatar is. But there's another problem. It seems she's also working with a masked muscle called Bane."

"Bane?" Magnet and Rico said together with a mixture of amazement and horror.

"You know of him?"

"Yeah. He's like the strongest guy in the city—probably the whole world even." Rico announced.

"Even stronger than Batman."

"Or Killer Croc even."

"You understand then, the severity of the situation." Ra's said grimly. "You have a choice. I know where your friend is being held and of her captors. But I require your assistance in keeping her calm." The children looked from one to the other uncertainly. He continued, but this time he addressed Tots specifically. "If you come with me, young man, I can also help you in learning about your airbending. I have the resources you'll need to achieve your full potential and you'll teach the avatar airbending like you are destined to do."

Tots didn't know what to say to that. The answer seemed obvious enough, but before he could give it, Rico interrupted yet again.

"Wait just a minute, _mister_." The spiky haired kid said, stringing the word 'mister' with accusing suspicion. "How do you even know about the avatar and airbending and all these crazy dodas? None of us sure knew anything about it until Yuki showed us her bending, so how do we know we should trust you?"

"You do not," he announced boldly. "You can only trust and hope. But I ask you this, how well do you think you'll get your friend back all on your own?"

He smiled when they had no response to that. The man turned from them and walked back into the shadows without waiting for the children. Tots looked at the man and he looked at his friends.

Pixy took hands with Tots and she grabbed Mercy with her extra. Mercy looked at Rico and grabbed his hand and Tots used his other to grab Magnet's.

Pixy smiled her whimsical grin at everyone. "We'll all be okay just as long as we're together."

"Yeah, we can do anything!" Tots exclaimed. "We're a team."

"Platoon." Rico corrected in a mutter. "But I guess it's the same thing."

"We'll watch each other's back." Magnet added. "And if anything happens we'll unleash our awesome powers of the slums into action and… hurt… someone. Preferably a bad guy… maybe."

"Yeah, we'll do that." Mercy said. She took a deep breath and tightened her fingers around her comrades hands. "Lets go." She said and they all followed the man into the dark.

* * *

><p>The man led them to a big black limo were they all followed him inside. They sped off in one direction down the road; hopefully the one that would lead them to Yuki.<p>

The servant guy, Ubu, had offered the children refreshment while his master explained things. Tots looked into his glass of pinkish liquid and sniffed. It was juice. He was about to take a drink when Mercy placed her palm over the cup and pushed it down. Tots looked at her and she shook her head silently telling him, "Don't drink anything they give you."

Tots sighed. He should've known better anyways. They've all heard stories about friends who'd accepted candy from strangers and the outcome had never been good. More than often, the candy had been laced with drugs and that had resulted in the children becoming addicts at an early age. The first time Tots had found this out was when a friendly looking man had offered him a bag of candy to share with the others. Tots had been elated when he'd received the present and had rushed off to find his friends before he'd dug in. Mercy had asked him where he'd gotten it and when he'd told her, she snatched the bag quickly out of his hand and thrown it into the river. Before he could make a fuss over such injustice, Mercy had yelled at him.

"You never ever accept things from strangers! Much less candy or food of any kind. Understand? Don't ever do that again!"

"But why?"

"Because that man was a drug dealer. And he put something really bad into that candy to hurt you. Just like he did to Penny."

They all knew Penny very well. The first time Tots saw her, she looked like a corpse and he couldn't understand why the girl willingly injected herself with shots the way she did. Mercy explained to him that that was what drugs did to a person. Tots never trusted adults after that. To think he'd come this close to sharing the same fate as the twelve year old girl.

Tots put the drink down on a little table and waited as their host explained things to them.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Rico asked.

Ra's eyebrow rose. "We've tracked your friend being held in a large bio green house."

"What we gunna do there?" Pixy asked.

"My men will take care of the details with that. Ivy will most likely have plants in which to defend herself against and Bane will use his brute force to take us down. Thankfully we have our own strategy."

"It sounds like you've got everything handled." Mercy noticed. "So why do you need us?"

"The avatar's power can be a very temperamental energy. If she gets upset enough, she can use her abilities to destroy."

"Destroy?" Rico repeated with confusion. "You definitely don't know Yuki. Yuki doesn't destroy anything. She's too much like a little goody-goody. I mean she did sort of destroy Penguin's restaurant, but it's not like she'd done that on purpose. And it's only cause we told her to."

"You told her to." Mercy gave him a stern look. "Apart from that, I don't see how Yuki would be able to do much to destroy anyways. She's not even a master waterbender and you think she's actually capable to destroy anyone. That just doesn't make sense."

"She can destroy things even if she is not a master," Ra's announced holding up a finger, "...if she is tapped into the avatar state."

"What's the avatar state?" Magnet asked.

"A super-duper secret power, Yuki said!" Pixy announced in what she though was a deep cryptic voice.

Ra's explained more specifically to them "The avatar state is a defense mechanism that is triggered when an avatar is in emotional or physical stress. Even if the avatar is no more than a child, she or he can send out a kind of psychic distress signal to her spirit. All the past avatars may help her in this way, using their knowledge of the four elements to enhance her strength and power."

"Wait." Magnet said holding up his hands in confusion. "One thing I don't get is how do you know about all this?"

Tots answered the question for him. "It's because you're from the avatar world too. Just like me and Yuki and her sister. Aren't you?"

Ra's look was unreadable for a moment, then he nodded in answer. "Yes."

"How did Ra's get here?" Pixy asked.

Ra's was suddenly launching in a story that seemed he'd been keeping inside him for many years. "When I was a young man, I had four friends that were all from the different nations. They were benders. Despite the fact that I possessed no bending abilities you could say I was somewhat like the leader of our group. I also liked to experiment. I wanted to see what would happen if you combined all four bendings together at the same time. Sharing my curiosity they decided to assist me. They got in a circle, standing side by side in the cycle of the avatar. On my mark they sent bending to the center of the circle. I expected a mix of the four elements would create a new element entirely, what I uncovered was something else entirely. The combination of the four elemental bendings resulted in a tear in the fabric of space and time and opened up a doorway."

"A portal." Pixy announced suddenly fitting the pieces together.

"Yes. It was said that only the avatar had the ability to cross over into the spirit world. Curious about this new unheard of discovery, I stepped through, expecting to arrive in the spirit world like people have done in the past. Instead I arrived in this world in China during the Ming dynasty. But before I could go back through and retrieve my friends, the portal closed and I was trapped here."

"So that's why Ra's never went back." Pixy said quickly. "Your friends were on the other side and they couldn't reach you. And since there were no benders here, you couldn't open the portal again and return. Sad!"

Ra's looked saddened as he nodded. "I was convinced that my friends would be able to find me again, so I waited for them. But they never did. To this day I've no idea what happened to them after I stepped through. It has always been a mystery to me."

"Wait a minute," cried Magnet quickly. "Ming dynasty? That was over five hundred years ago."

"Indeed." The man said. "I have lived on this alternate earth for five hundred years."

"How on earth…"

"When you've uncovered the secrets of the universe like I have," he said cutting in on Rico's disbelief,

"you discover _many_ things about the glorious planet we all live in."

The children looked at each other, all sharing the same thoughts. How could this man have stayed alive for all those centuries?

Pixy looked at the man and grinned. "Ra's man ages very well."

"Age has nothing to do with it. But that is a story for another day. In the meantime we have to concentrate on getting the avatar back."

"Yuki said that she had a vision about her shadow turning into some bald guy with an arrow on his head." Tots announced, trying to be helpful. "Then he said that she had to find Batman but he didn't say why."

Ra's face narrowed at that. "That is not a good thing then."

"Why." They all said together.

Ra's explained with a heavy look. "Unfortunately the Dark Knight and I are, how should I say this, not on high terms with one another. In other words, we are enemies."

"Why?"

"I long to seek balance to the world, as the avatar is destined to do." he told them, "But the Dark Knight does not agree with my _methods_."

"Well I think we need to do what the bald guy said, cause he's a spirit and I hear that bad stuff happens to people who don't "_heed_" the spirits." The little boy announced, making little quotation marks with his fingers on the word 'heed.'

"How do you know what the word "heed" even means, Tots?" Mercy said with a smirk. For a six year old that seemed like a real unusual vocabulary word to use.

Tots shrugged. "A big monkey spirit told me in my own vision."

"Hee, hee… monkey spirit!" Pixy giggled.

"Nevertheless," Ra's said as the car began to slow. "I believe I can serve the avatar better than the Batman."

"Why?" The children said again together.

"Because I have the means and the capabilities to teach her."

"But doesn't Batman have those too." Mercy realized quickly. "I mean otherwise the spirits wouldn't have told her to go to him."

"I don't expect you to understand," he said in what the older kids heard to be condescendence, "you are only children after all." The car stopped and Ra's stood. "We have arrived. When the two are dealt with, I'll call for you. Yuki will be waiting." He looked back at them with traces of a knowing smile and disappeared with Ubu closing the door on the children.

When the car was quiet the children conversed about their situation.

"Well… what does we think?" Pixy asked the others.

"I don't trust him!" Rico said quickly folding his arms across his chest.

"Me neither!" Magnet said. It was sort of obvious he would take Rico's side, considering they were best friends and alike in many ways

"His story is sketchy," Mercy added, "but it makes sense, sort of. I mean the way he knows about bending and the avatar and all that."

"Maybe he's a spy…" Pixy suggested mysteriously. "Or a vampire… or something. Ooh! Pixy can check!" She cheered lowering her goggles to her eyes as she prepared to zoom through more cyberspace.

"I don't think so," Mercy said. "He seemed pretty believable to me. And it would explain how Yuki probably got here. What do you think, Tots? Tots?"

They looked at the end seat where Tots had been sitting but the little boy wasn't there anymore.

"Tots!"

"Tots?"

"Tots!"

"Where'd he go?"

* * *

><p>The air was frozen as snow rained from the sky and breath came out in big puffy smoke. Tots creped silently behind the precession of dark men that seemed like ninjas in the night. Tots had always been surprisingly lithe on his feet, even before he knew he was an airbender. It also didn't hurt for him to be pretty small. His footsteps were near undetectable as he followed the men to the place in question.<p>

But what was there wasn't a green house, as he'd thought, but only rubble and dirt. Tots wondered if this wasn't just a trap.

"Sir," said one man who looked to be a soldier for Ra's Al Ghul. "It appears that the Batman has already been here."

Ra's showed no sign of emotion, but Tot's thought he caught a trace of anger flash quickly across his face. "Then the avatar is with him already." He strode away for a moment to study a group of oddly piled stones, which were aligned in the shape of a well.

"What do you wish to do, my lord?" Ubu asked slowly.

"Leave. The avatar is long gone by now and Batman will not hand her over to us no matter what I say to him."

Ubu looked stunned by how easily his master had given up. "But, sir the embodiment of the planet…"

"…Is unobtainable." Ra's finished for his servant. "The avatar may be gone now, but I still have something she will need further on to complete her training. All that matters is the boy. We must get him to my mountain safe house. There we will begin his training."

"What of his friends?" Ubu asked without emotion.

Tots held his breath, waiting for his answer. "Dispose of them in whatever way you wish. They are no longer useful to me."

His servant bowed. "It will be done, sir."

Tots gasped. "Oh no!" He sped off in the direction he'd come from, taking care to use his airbending to propel him faster than normal. The limo came in sight just as he saw several men approach it. Frightened, Tots hid behind a tree and waited. They opened the door and looked inside. After a moment, the men looked at each other and shouted.

"They're gone! They're all gone!"

Ra's Al Ghul's voice came up out of a walkie-talkie one of the men held. "Find them." He snapped. "The older children mean nothing, but the young airbender must be apprehended alive."

"Yes sir." They said as they got into formation to search the snowy forest. Tots looked at the ground and watched where they were heading. Oh no! Their footprints made in snow! The men would be able to track them in no time that way. Tot's looked behind him. His tiny footprints were much farther apart than the others, due to the fact he'd sprinted much like the way of an antelope, but that still could give him away.

What was he going to do?

"Tots," He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice behind him. He breathed when he saw it was only Magnet. "Come on." The boy said, grabbing the younger boy's arm and speeding off in a direction.

Tots stopped, trying to summon up some wind to cover their tracks. It worked… in a way. The tracks were gone but now there was a big trail of naked earth behind them.

"No more airbending." Magnet hissed as they heard the men picking up their trail. "You're just making it worse."

"Sorry."

They found the others hiding up some trees. Mercy jumped down and embraced Tots. "Don't go running off like that. You had us worried."

"It's a good thing I did." The little boy said squirming out of her hug. "Ra's Al Ghul really is a ghoul! He's planning on getting me, but you guys aren't any use to him so he's going to get rid of you."

"Ah ha!" Rico said punching the air in triumph. "I knew that guy was bad news."

"What are we going to do?" Mercy said.

Tots looked at the ground, thinking of alternate solutions. "Nothing."

They all looked at him. "What?"

"What are you saying?" Mercy asked with fear.

Tots looked at them, sorrow and fear edged in his voice. "It doesn't have to end like this. I'm gunna give myself up."

"What! No way!" Magnet declared. "You don't have to do anything of the sort, Tots. This guy's a jerk and you don't have to end it like this."

"But if I don't, then he might end up hurting all of you."

"We've all been hurt before. And if this guys looking for a fight," Rico took out a pocket knife and brandished it threateningly, "then we'll give it to him."

"Yeah." Magnet boasted. "We're the Bell Tower Gang and that means never surrendering!"

Mercy put a hand on Tots' shoulder, in a very mother like gesture. "We're not leaving you, Tots. Never! We're with you all the way. Let's just try and stay together."

Tots felt bad for dragging them into this mess but he was also relieved. The thought of being surrounded by strangers had really terrified him. "Okay."

"Ooh, ooh! Hey guys!" Pixy shouted jumping up and down from a few yards away.

"SHHHHHHH!" Everyone hissed holding up their fingers to their lips. "Not so loud. They're trying to find us, remember."

"Oops. Sorry." She whispered flinching from her carelessness. "Come see what Pixy found!"

They all started forward and came to the place she was staring at. At first they thought it was nothing more than a big mound in the snow, but then it started breathing and they all jumped with surprise.

"Wha—what is it?" Rico said clinging to Mercy.

Pixy stepped forward and dusted off a small head, revealing a colorful wrestling mask and spikes around his throat. "Bane!" She squealed as quietly as she could. "How'd he get all the way out here? And why's he sleeping in the snow? That's kinda silly of him."

"Well let's not wake him up and ask." Magnet hissed exasperated by Pixy's tactlessness. "Let's just belt it out of here before he gets mad and pummels us."

"Pummels us?" Rico repeated with contemplation. He looked at Bane, holding his chin in his hand as the wheels in his head began spinning with a sudden inspiration. Somewhere above his head, a DING could be heard as a light bulb sprung to life. "Wait a minute! Guys, I have an idea."

* * *

><p>Ra's Al Ghul's men scoured the forest, following the footprints the children had made to the exact spot they were hiding. Suddenly the silent night air was ripped away as five small figures came hurtling through, screaming at the top of their lungs.<p>

"AHHHHHHH! CRAZY MUSCLE GUY! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Cried one of them. They'd fled the scene even before the men had a chance to grab at them. When they turned back to see what they were fleeing from, a huge man made of nothing but muscle burst through. With one look, the men suddenly understood why the children were running.

Across the man's chest was written in big white lettering, "I M A WARTY DORKHEAD WITH BOOGAR BREATH!"

The situation might've been quite amusing if for the fact the man wasn't pummeling strait towards them with no intentions of stopping. In a single moment, it had been like the men had been run over, like a line of wimpy cars under the wheels of a monster truck.

Rico caught the sight behind him and punched the air with how beautifully his plan had gone.

"Did you see that?" He cried with delight. "To think that crazy idea would work out so brilliantly."

"Yes, indeed you are a genus, Porcupine head." Mercy cried with sarcasm. "But unfortunately we have another problem at the moment." She pointed ahead of them where a blockade of gunmen were waiting for them. The children skidded to a stop, arms raised in surrender as Ra's Al Ghul stepped into sight.

"Do you surren—"

"YES!" Everyone said as one.

Ra's looked quite surprised. Apparently that definitely hadn't been what he'd expected. He hadn't even had the chance to finish what he was going to say.

They could hear the barrage behind them as Bane polished off the rest of the scouting party. Rico bounced up and down on his heels with anxiety, staring first behind him and then back at the blockade. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Pixy's arm, who grabbed Magnet's, who grabbed Mercy's, who pulled Tots behind her and all rushed off to the side.

"Halt!" Ra's shouted. "Halt I say."

Rico could hear clicks of guns preparing to fire just as Bane pummeled through the forest. There was no stopping him now. He was like a wild bull, thirsty for blood and ready to kill. Rico just had to make sure it wasn't any of their hides that got caught in the crossfire.

"Oh yeah, Rico," Magnet said sarcastically, "great idea drawing on his face and writing on his chest!"

"It's not like anyone else was coming up with any bright ideas." He shouted defensively from behind.

"Don't talk, just run." Mercy shouted, clinging on to Tots as his legs whipped behind him with the speed the children was running.

Rico rounded a corner and ran through a grove of trees. He swatted at branches, trying to keep them from whipping him in the face while still trying to keep a hold on Pixy and the others. The fact that it was nightfall didn't help him. It was too dark to see clearly where he was going and if he kept pummeling through, he'd end up—AHHHHHH!

The ground disappeared suddenly under him and he slid, pulling the others with him down a long steep hill. They all cried out as they fell and skidded. Thankfully the packed snow provided some cushion for them as they plummeted down. With many bangs and bruises, they finally made it to the bottom of the hill.

"Is everyone okay?" Mercy asked raising her head and dusting the snow off herself.

"Damage analysis… Pixy is okay."

"I'm good."

"Same here."

"I'm oka—OW!" The cry had come from Tots. Mercy rushed over and found him cradling his right wrist.

"Here let me see." She took it tenderly and tried to move it ever so slightly.

"Ouch, ow, ow!" Tots whimpered through growing tears.

"Yup that looks like it's broken." Mercy announced sadly.

"Broken!" Tots cried with terror. He'd always feared getting a broken bone. He'd heard how expensive hospitals were and if you got hurt in the slums, there wasn't much they could do for you.

"It's okay," Mercy said, trying to keep him calm. "We need to find some shelter and get a fire going. Hopefully we'll be able to bind your arm at the least."

"Do you know first aid?" Magnet asked softly coming up behind and studying the damage.

"A little," She whispered to him. "Enough to know the basics at least. You know how I took care of the little kids in the gang don't you."

"This is different," Magnet said hoisting Tots to his feet. "Nosebleeds and fevers maybe, but this is serious."

"Those were too. We just need to worry about getting someplace warm right now."

"How bout over there." Tots pointed to an old abandoned farmhouse with the remains of what was once a chicken coop. It looked sturdy enough, and at least it would provide shelter for them.

They went inside and lit a small fire in the hearth. When the light was lit, they could see the room more clearly. There was a broken couch that was moth-eaten in several places, a table, two wooden chairs, and an old refrigerator that's door was falling off the hinge. There wasn't a scrap of food left inside.

They all gathered around the fire as Mercy got to work on Tots' arm, doing the best that she could. A half hour later Tots looked at his splinted arm through big silver tears. She'd had to set the bone back, and it had proven to be very painful. Despite the pain though, he'd only whimpered slightly and hadn't so much as cried out when she snapped the bone back.

Mercy patted his arm when she was done putting it in a sling. He sniffed, mopping his eyes with his extra sleeve and she smiled at him. "I'm quite certain I have never seen a braver patient."

He smiled at her through the water running down his face.

They all sat around the fire as Mercy stirred a soup made from some Spam and Top Romen Pixy was lucky enough to find in the cupboard. It was even luckier that she was able to find a pot to cook it in as well as a few bowls. There wasn't enough for everyone, so Mercy and Tots would have to share.

The soup was passed out and they all began eating hungrily.

Magnet poked at his food suspiciously. "Does Spam have an expiration date?"

"It was canned so it's fine." Mercy said irritably chewing on a piece of salty meat.

"What about Top Romen noodles?"

"Oh, Magnet, just eat it!" Rico snapped, annoyed by the jabber. It was cold in the shack, the fire was dingy, there wasn't a lot to choose from for food, and they were all just really cranky.

There wasn't much food but they tried to make the soup go as far as it could. They weren't full when the last of it was gone, but at least they had something inside them now. After the small meal, Rico pulled out his wireless and they all listened to the cheery tunes of Christmas music drifting gently out the speakers.

_Oh holly night_  
><em>The stars are brightly shining<em>  
><em>It is the night of our dear saviors birth!<em>  
><em>Long lay the world in sin and error pining<em>  
><em>Till he apeared and the soul felt its worth.<em>  
><em>A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices<em>  
><em>For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!<em>

"Does anyone know what day it is?" Rico asked, breaking through the mood the music had created.

Magnet looked at his watch. "Well it's three in the morning right now. So… it's Christmas."

"Wow." Rico said. "With everything that's happened these last few days, I completely forgot about Christmas."

"I think we all did." Mercy added.

They shared a sigh around the room. To kids like them, they couldn't count much on Christmas, none of them had ever really had one. But in the gang, one of the members sometimes saved up enough to at least buy something special for dinner, like pizza or a big cake. They also exchanged gifts to make it seem more real to them. But this wasn't the first time they'd gone without a Christmas so none of them felt any disappointment for it.

Pixy sighed again, rolling over and trying to find the most comfortable position on the hard, wooden floor. "Merry Christmas, you guys."

There wasn't anything merry about it, but they didn't have the heart to say so.

Soon enough the soft gentle music lulled the children into a deep restful sleep. The snow fell down in big fat flakes as the blizzard struck the land.

* * *

><p>The blizzard had died down somewhat by the time light showed through the windows. But the group was tired and decided to sleep in while they waited for the snow to lighten up. It was still falling by the time Tots got up after he heard a noise on the roof.<p>

"Mercy? Mercy wake up."

The dark girl's body shifted and she looked up at Tots, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Huh? What do you want?"

"I though I heard a noise on the roof."

"It was just a tree branch, snapping in the wind." She said, rolling over dismissively.

"But don't you think we should get going if we want to make it back to the city before it gets dark."

"It's too cold to go anywhere tonight, Tots. Just go back to sleep."

"But what if those guys get us here."

"Are you worried that they'll take you away?" Mercy looked at him sympathetically and Tots nodded. "Don't worry about that." Mercy said lightly. "It was dark last night so they didn't see where we went, plus Bane took care of those thugs for us. And even if he didn't, there's no way they can find us out here. The snow from last night buried our tracks perfectly. They'd have to be magicians to find their way through this storm."

"I'm just saying, what if they do find us? It could happen."

Rico butted with a sarcastic comment at that moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Just like it could happen that you suddenly turn into a magical airbender right after we met the most powerful bender alive in the form of a little kid whose awesome powers have the capability to destroy and save the world."

"Exactly!"

"Go back to sleep, Tots." Rico said angrily. "Nothing is going to get us in here. It's obvious that Yuki is safe and sound with Batman. Those guys are probably long gone by now anyways. Really we have nothing to worry about for the moment."

The little boy sighed, and was about to lie back down when a body burst through the window. The children snapped awake instantly as three more surrounded them, one running through the door, another jumping out from the fireplace, and one more coming through the opposite window.

The children shrieked and clutched at one another in a tight, frightened group hug.

The men surrounding them were clad completely in black with hoods and masks to cover the majority of their faces. The only skin they could see were their calculating eyes.

Ra's Al Ghul filed in once the ninjas had the children surrounded.

"Not you again!" Rico scoffed before Ra's had the chance to say anything. "Look whatever your planning it'll never work, okay. What? You're just going to take Tots away and kill the rest of us? You don't even know him. He'll fight you every chance he gets, and then he'll get away somehow. Even still, we're not going to let you take him anywhere, and he won't be used by you."

"Surprising as this may seem to you, but I didn't come here to force anyone to do anything." Ra's said plainly. "But I am here to offer him something."

"Whatever it is, he doesn't want it." Rico said for him.

"Perhaps you should let your friend speak for himself." Ra's turned to the little boy who was being guarded by Mercy. "The power to control air is challenging. More so than it is to control fire even. Bending isn't a superpower you can turn off and on at will. It has no on/off switch. It's part of who you are and is as one with your body as a limb is. What's more is it takes years of study, training, and discipline to become a true bending master. I have the means and the resources to help harness that power and if you come with me now, no harm will ever befall your friends."

"Look!" Rico snapped at the man. "Tots doesn't want your stupid offers. He's happy where he is. We're his best friends we can take care of him ourselves."

"And how will you teach him to control the currents inside him, boy? Look at yourself; no home, no family, you live off the brink of starvation and have to depend on theft in order to survive. You don't even have the means to heal him!" He accused gesturing to the boy's bandaged arm. "You expect to teach him yourself?"

"We'll figure something out together. There's no way Tots would ever choose some stranger over his friends. And in any case we've been able to manage before and nothing has changed."

"Yes it has!" Tots declared unexpectedly. "Everything has changed. I've changed. Now that I have airbending, what can I do with it? Where are my limits?"

"I can show you them."

"Shut up." Rico and Magnet said together. Everyone ignored the man for a moment to speak to their friend.

"Tots, you can't possibly be serious." Mercy said.

Tots looked at the ground. "If I go with him, I can control it. I can find Yuki, like Mou Mou said, and teach her airbending like I'm supposed to."

"But Tots," Rico said throwing out his hands to gesture to the rest of them, "you'd honestly choose him over your own gang? Over your own family?"

The little boy looked at the faces of his friends over carefully. They were all so different in appearance and personality and yet it was because of their differences that made their bond all the stronger. Despite their different backgrounds they had one specific thing in common with each other… they were alone except for each other.

And yet, how could the little boy pass this opportunity up? As a gang, they'd learned to take opportunities when they arrive, otherwise you missed them, and you probably went hungry for the night. And he wanted more than anything to control this power inside him and learn as much as he could about the ancient art. The way Yuki described the monks who learned how to fly gliders, manipulate air currents, and ride the wind like scooters had made him hopeful like he hadn't been for so long.

"This might be the only chance I ever get to learn airbending." He said to the others.

"Tots, don't go. Pixy will be sad if Tots leaves!" Pixy said rubbing her eyes tearfully. The little boy couldn't look at her.

"Tots, please don't do this," Mercy implored softly.

But the boy looked at Ra's. "I accept your offer." He saw the corners of the man's mouth twitch into a smug smile.

"We will leave at once then."

But the boy lifted his finger without moving from his spot. "Not so fast, mister. I still have one condition." Ra's looked surprised for a moment but listened to the boy's demand. Tot's smiled gesturing to the children. "I'll go with you, but only if my friends can come too."

Ra's brow furrowed. "I was not intending to take on _five_ children. Especially such bad behaved little boys."

"Hey!" Magnet and Rico said together when his eyes fell on them as he said that.

"Either they're coming too, or I won't learn from you," Tots said crossing his good arm over his chest stubbornly. "That's the deal."

Ra's face was unreadable for a moment, and then he smiled ever so slightly. "You know how to play your cards don't you." He sighed. "Very well then. Your friends are permitted to come."

Everyone looked stunned to see he'd actually agreed to take on all of them after all. Tots looked more surprised than anyone else.

"Yay!" Pixy sang jumping up suddenly and hugging Tots around the shoulders. "Tots boy isn't being taken away after all. We all get to go now!"

"Well then let us depart." Ra's announced.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
>Orphans<p>

Yuki's eyes fluttered open to discover she was in a big fluffy bed. She looked up and recognized the room she'd stayed in at Bruce's house. She jumped out of bed, elated beyond words that they'd been able to find her after all. She rushed down the stairs to the kitchen. There she found Alfred making breakfast and her face lit up at the sight of him.

"Alfred!" She squealed rushing over to him and embracing his legs; it was the furthest she could reach on the tall man.

The butler stumbled back a bit, nearly tripping, when she came hurtling at him.

"Miss Yuki," He said when he saw he encircling his legs. "Thank heavens you're not hurt. I'm so relieved you're alright."

"Sorry for loosing you before." She said referring back to the department store.

"Yes I was quite shaken by that little adventure. Master Bruce brought you back late last night but you were asleep. Are you alright?"

She looked up and nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. I met lots of kids while I was away. They all belonged to a gang, but they were really nice."

"Sounds like it was quite and adventure."

"Yeah, but their leader wasn't very nice at all. He tried selling me to Poison Ivy then I fought Bane but he got me and threw me down a well."

"Oh dear! I'll bet that was pretty scary."

"Yeah it was pretty scary, and really dark, but guess what!"

"What?"

She leaned in whispering as if revealing a wonderful secret. "I can see with my feet."

Alfred wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that. "I beg your pardon?"

Yuki went on to explain how she'd discovered her new ability. "While I was down in the hole I couldn't see anything, but then I took off my boots and I could feel everything around me through the… viberations."

"You mean vibrations."

"Yeah, that's it. And I was down there for a _really_ long time."

"Nearly three days to be precise."

"Oh really? I thought it was longer than that."

He smiled at her. "I'll bet you're hungry then."

She looked at him and beamed, nodding energetically. The smell from the cooking had made her mouth water and her stomach ach with longing. For three days all she'd been given for food was bread and some bottled water and that was pretty much it.

Today Alfred had made muffins with scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese. Yuki's appetite had grown dramatically over the past few days while her diet had been greatly restricted. The fact that the meal was positively delicious could've been another factor to stimulate her hunger. She'd already finished her third helping by the time Bruce came down.

At the sight of the tall brawny man, Yuki's face split into a huge smile. She jumped off of her chair and hugged him around the knees like she'd done when she saw Alfred.

When he realized what she was trying to do, he knelt to her level and gave her a proper hug.

"Thank you for rescuing me." She said, her face pressing in his shoulder.

"I think the real thanks is to you for saving me." His voice was kind. But then he took her shoulders and looked her crucially in the eye. "Yuki, what did you do back there?"

"What did I do when?"

"When we were at the green house and you were swallowed by that plant."

Yuki looked aghast at the prospect. "I was swallowed by a plant?"

"What? You mean you don't remember?"

"I remember you coming to get me, then Bane sneaking up and beating you up, and a big mouth with teeth. But I don't remember anything else."

"You don't remember bursting from the plant, and sucking every bit of water out of that place, or the way your eyes glowed white hot."

Yuki looked stunned, not to mention a little scared of the information. "Gosh I did that? I don't remember even bending."

Bruce held his chin in contemplation. "Yuki, what do you know about the last avatar? Did your parents ever talk about him or your sister maybe?"

"My parents never ever talked about Avatar Aang. Not even the adventures he used to go on. But Yuna always spoke of him. She told me lots of stories and I really loved them."

"Do you know why your parents never talked about him with you?"

She shook her head.

"Yuki this is going to strange, but I need you to tell me about the Azulons. Who are they and why did they come after you?"

Yuki's face was one of pure terror at the mention of the inviolable name. Her eyes glazed over as a memory flashed in her minds eye. Bruce watched her face as it froze with anxiety. Then she gasped seeing something he didn't. Her eyes focused on Bruce and she blinked, coming down to earth again.

"Where'd you go?" he asked, referring to the brief flashback.

She didn't answer his question but stepped back, fear outlined on every corner of her face. "I can't say anything about them!"

"Why not? What happened to you?"

"I can't say. Those people—what they've done."

"Why? What have they done? Why won't you talk about them?"

"Because… they're cursed."

* * *

><p>No matter what Bruce said, he knew Yuki would never tell him what he wanted to know about the Azulons. The child was sincerely scared out of her mind of those people. It was up to his own detective skills to solve this riddle.<p>

"Well if you don't mind me saying sir, but I think that could wait for one night, don't you?" Alfred said as he was thinking about heading to the batcave to do more research from Yuki's book.

"Why?"

The Butler looked momentarily surprised that Bruce didn't know what day it was. "Why? Because it's Christmas Eve, sir. And I believe two children in the house might want to spend it with a certain father figure tonight."

Bruce stared for a moment. With everything that had happened in the last few days, he'd completely forgot about Christmas. It completely flew his mind to even arrange for attending any sort of party even. Thankfully though Bruce always made sure to finish shopping for presents at least a week in advance. But it was a little late for Yuki since she'd been a sort of surprise he hadn't anticipated in the slightest. At least they had some new clothes for her.

Well, he had to do something. Christmas only came once a year and he knew how important it was to children their age.

"Alfred, can you get the decorations down from the attic. We've got some decorating to do."

* * *

><p>That evening Bruce invited Dick and Barbara to the house for a Batclan Christmas dinner. They had other parties they planned to attend but despite the last minute invite, they somehow made time to squeeze a meeting in before the end of the night. The dinner was more of a formality anyways; the real reason for calling them was to discuss the issue about Yuki.<p>

For a while, Bruce even considered alerting his old friends Clark and Dianna to join them, but decided to keep this hushed for the moment until he and his team could come up with a solution.

To his surprise, both the young adults arrived to the mansion well before eight o'clock. Not only that but they'd brought gifts for Bruce, Alfred, and Tim, but also for Yuki. The little girl herself was more surprised than anyone to be receiving gifts at all. In fact she'd even felt uncertain about taking the presents.

Barbara had walked through the door that night, spotted Yuki and smiled to her. "Hello Yuki. It's nice to see you again."

Yuki stared at her, but didn't recognize this woman with red hair. She was polite, though. "Nice to see you too."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"That's good." She beamed and handed the little girl a bright paper bag with bells and tissue paper. "Merry Christmas, Yuki!"

Yuki smiled at the gesture. "Thank you!" But then she looked at it uncertainly, folding her hands behind her back without taking the parcel. "I'm not sure I can take this, though. Yuna says I'm not supposed to accept stuff from strangers." She looked like she really wanted to accept it, but her sister had made it quite clear that offers were banned.

"Well I'm not a stranger anymore. We met last night, remember?"

"No."

Barbara smacked her head as her memory came back. "Oh right you were asleep then."

"Yuki," Bruce said coming up behind her. "This is Barbara, she's batgirl."

Yuki smiled as recognition hit her. "So you do exist after all. I kept hearing your name all over the gang but after I was tricked I began thinking you were just a legend."

Dick came up and held his hand out to the girl to shake. "Hi there, I'm Dick, also known as Nightwing. Heard what you did to Bane and Ivy. That's pretty cool if you ask me, especially for a little kid." He looked down at the green package he held and handed it to her. "This is for you, too. Merry Christmas."

She smiled and finally decided to simply accept the gifts rather than put up a fuss. But then she frowned as memory hit her of what she'd learned from Alfred about the traditions of Christmas and present giving. "Oh no! I didn't get you anything!"

Barbara just smiled, waving the dilemma off as nothing to worry over. "It's alright. We don't need anything. This was sort of unexpected anyways." She cast a glance at Bruce that Yuki couldn't read.

They all sat around the table and waited as the meal was passed out. Even Alfred sat with them, putting his servant duties to rest for the moment. The meal was spectacular, more than anything Yuki had seen: there were two kinds of potatoes, yams, rolls, olives, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and roasted turkey.

Everyone ate their fill, making small talk through it. When the meal was over Bruce spoke.

"Okay, everyon, dinner isn't the only reason I called you here today."

Suddenly there was a yip from Barbara. "Ah ha! I knew it! Pay up, Dick."

Dick looked disgruntled as he fished into his pocket and handed the happy little redhead a set of keys that Bruce recognized to be for the motorcycles Dick liked to drive as Nightwing. Apparently they had made some sort of bet between themselves.

Bruce ignored the intrusion and continued as if uninterrupted. "There's something we need to talk about."

"You mean about…" Tim said, then trailed off without finishing his sentence.

"Yuki?"

The little girl was suddenly on full alert at the sound of her name. "What?"

"When your sister spoke of Avatar Aang, what did she say about him?"

Yuki touched her chin and looked up at the ceiling in remembrance. "Well she said a lot about him. Like that he was an airbender, and he defeated Fire Lord Ozia when he was only twelve, he had powerful friends who fought by his side, and he married his waterbending teacher Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe… like me! Oh she told me about this one time when he didn't know waterbending yet and he and Katara and her brother had to fight against pirates to get a waterbending scroll that would teach them both, cause she wasn't very good before."

"Okay, but what did she say about his disappearance?"

"Only that he made one last trip to the southern air temple to see how his students were doing and was never seen again by anyone." Her voice became hushed as she whispered slyly of the old airbender. "I bet he froze himself into a big block of ice again like he did last time and he's waiting to be awoken again after a hundred years."

"That's what you think huh?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh. That's what he did last time and he only had like five months to learn all four bending techniques before the Fire Nation took over the world. So amazing."

Bruce sighed. "Yuki, I don't think Avatar Aang is ever coming back."

Her looked was aghast, as if she could not believe he would ever speak something so horrible. "What? How could you say such things? How could you loose hope that easy?"

"I'm not loosing hope by saying this because the avatar is alive, only someone else now."

"Where? Who?"

Bruce looked surprised she didn't know by now. "It's you Yuki."

The little girl's face wasn't what any of them had expected. Somehow Bruce partly thought she would be elated to find she held such power inside her. When Tim was added to the gang, he'd leapt for joy at the prospect and chances opened up to him, he expected something along the same reaction from her. But instead of the response like the one he'd given, Yuki's expression was horrified. "WHAT? No I'm not!"

"Yes I'm pretty sure you are." Bruce said calmly. He tried to explain things to her so that she would understand. "Listen, when you battled against Poison Ivy and Bane your eyes glowed white, signaling the entrance into the Avatar State. You also told me that Aang disappeared a few years before you were born and was never heard from again. I believe he died on that journey, Yuki. And what comes after air in the avatar cycle."

"Water," Yuki said fearfully.

"Exactly. I hold no doubts that you are the avatar, Yuki."

Her eyes widened as realization hit her. She looked down at her hand where the strange spiral birthmark showed bright and blue like a tattoo. She got down from the table and ran out of the room without a single word to anyone.

* * *

><p>Bruce didn't find Yuki in her room like he'd expected. Instead, he found her in his study, gazing up at the realistic portrait of his mother and father; Tomas and Martha Wayne. Her back was to him, and though his footsteps were as silent as a ghost, she still knew he was there.<p>

"They look like you." She said unexpectedly cocking her head to the side and studying it closer.

He stood beside her and gazed at the painting of the two people whose death made him who he was today. A pang drove through his heart at her words, yet his face remained smooth.

"Your parents died a long time ago, didn't they?"

"…Yes." He said slowly. "…a very long time ago."

"Why?"

Bruce never sought to talk about the night that occurred when he was eight years old. Those wounds were too easily opened through discussion. It just hurt too much. "It was unexpected but…"

"…It wasn't an accident." She finished for him. He looked down to see her eyes were unfocused on everything else but the picture in front of them. She said to him that she couldn't read English, yet she knew perfectly well whom these people were. It was as if she'd spoken with them the few moments she'd been alone in the room. "They were murdered."

He didn't understand the tone in her voice. It wasn't pitying, as others had been before, but empathetic in a way that said she knew only too well what that was like.

Suddenly she was talking to him of things he had never expected her to tell him. Of the night her own parents were heartlessly stolen from her. It was as if she'd kept it all inside of her for so long and had waited to share it with someone, anyone, who knew what it felt like too. "I don't know what happened. We had dinner and I got sleepy all of a sudden. I took a nap, and when I woke up, I was in a hole. Then I got out and the house was all burned down in ashes. I don't know where mommy and daddy went but Yuna said they weren't ever coming back."

Bruce stared at her. Yuki's eyes had become focused again but she was looking at the ground as if ashamed. "I know why they died now. It's cause of me."

Bruce knelt, gripping her by the shoulders, firm yet gently. "No. Never think that. They were happy to give their lives up for your protection."

"But if I wasn't the avatar…"

"They still would've died for you." He declared, bluntly cutting her off. "Do you know why?"

Yuki thought for a moment then shook her head in defeat.

"It's because your are their precious daughter and that's the only reason they died for you. Not because you're the reincarnation of the planet's soul but because they loved you… and that is it." For a moment all she could do was stare at him, then gradually her eyes filled with tears and she embraced him at once. He returned it kindly. When he was young he use to blame himself for his parents' murder as Yuki was doing; that was before he knew better, before he became Batman.

"Yuna might still be alive." He suggested. If her sister was indeed still breathing, she would be able to give them information that could benefit Yuki and in return they could offer assistance and help to her.

Yuki's face beamed with hope. "She can help. She knows everything about avatars. Even though she has no bending, she knows the basic forms of waterbending and used to teach me some moves."

Bruce nodded. It would be good to know more about this bending world from someone older. "If we were to find your sister, you'll have to remember everything you can about where you were before."

Yuki nodded. "Yeah I remember a bit. We didn't see a whole lot of people outside of our camp but I remember we lived in some mountains called… the uh… the…" she snapped her fingers, impatiently trying to get herself to remember. "The Selkirk Mountains! Somewhere near Calypso Ridge." She said at last.

With quadrants like that, he could find the place in question quite easily with the GPS in his private Batjet. "Calypso Ridge here we come."

* * *

><p><em>A scream shot through he night like a bullet through the brain. A woman was being held down while unknown people beat her mercilessly. Words were being shouted at her; questions she refused to answer despite the torment they inflicted on her boy each time she stayed silent. She attempted to fight off her assailants but it was no use. Suddenly a slender figure stepped through the line of torturers and the woman's face changed from one to anger, to surprise, and quickly to disbelief.<em>

"_No!" The woman whispered. "Not you!"_

_A bright flash of blue fire erupted from the figure and the woman screamed as death tore its way through her body._

"NO!" Yuki clawed at the air as if trying to slap away the vision. She sat up and stared into the large deserted room. An enormous blizzard was swirling out the window and cast frightening shadows off the walls of her room. She clutched to Yue for protection, but not even the little doll of the moon spirit could erase her fright. Then a loud echoing bang erupted through the night and lightning flashed outside her window.

She squeaked and ran out of the room in a blur, going into the room across from hers. She paused for a moment in the door when she caught sight of the sleeping mound on the bed. She didn't want to disturb him but… another boom of thunder lit the sky, causing her to sprint forward without another hesitation.

Bruce was dead tired from another late night of rounds on the streets, so once he fell asleep he didn't wake up again till morning.

Yuki curled up behind his back, squeaking with fright each time a flash of lighting cut through the night. For blizzards, this was sure unusual to see lightning in the sky, even at six years old she knew that! She pressed up against his back, using the pillow to shield her head, and curling into a tight ball. The storm proceeded all through the night and on into the morning. Eventually Yuki fell asleep, clinging to Yue and pressing closely against the billionaire with the pillow covering up most of her head.

Bruce woke up that morning to feel a pressure on his back. He looked over and saw the girl curled up behind him with one of his pillows covering up most of her head. Bruce vaguely remember it beginning to storm pretty bad round the time he finally made it home and he could've sworn that he'd dreamt of lightning last night. The thunder had been unusually realistic, if he remembered correctly.

She must've gotten scared in that big room all by herself, and the booms of the elements had only worsened her fear. He'd had the same dread as a kid and had only been able to find comfort by crawling into his parents' bed for protection.

He shrugged and went ahead to get ready for the day, leaving Yuki to sleep a little longer.

After he'd gone into the bathroom to wash and change he'd finally made up his mind about when to go to Calypso Ridge.

They would leave that very night.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay just to let everyone know, I sorta have most of this story done in advace. The reason for my speedy updates is because most of it is already typed up. Don't worry, it's not like I'm a seriously dedicated writer typing up chapters three to five thousand words long everyday. <strong>

**The scene where Yuki is curled up behind Bruce is actually inspired by this picture off deviantart**

**Here's the link: .com/gallery/#/d3d6vci **

**If you can't find it that way look up "Stormy Night by Nimalis70"**

**It's so cute^_^**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
>Moving Forward, Looking Back<p>

"AAAACK!" Tots yelled as one of Ra's Al Ghul's men attempted to tend to his broken arm.

"I know it stings…" The man said, attempting to consol the boy.

"It really stings!" Tots cried, wishing he could pull his arm away from the abusive medical treatment.

They'd all found themselves on a jet plane headed to what Ra's said was his home. When they attempted to press him for more information about this place, he wouldn't tell them. Everyone had different assumptions about what his home looked like but none wanted to discuss their thoughts in the company of his men.

The moment they were airborne, one of Ra's best doctors attempted to tend to Tots's injured arm. The boy despised the idea of a stranger treating him.

"Gee, Tots, you didn't make this much a fuss when _I _was looking at it." Mercy noticed, sitting near the boy.

"That's because you know what you're doing." He said under his breath.

"Hey kid. I know perfectly well what I'm doing" The man scolded, catching the words that had clearly meant to go unheard. "Still…" He began observing the work of the makeshift cast. "I'm surprised by this handiwork used to tend your arm. Did you do this?"

"Yes." Mercy said tugging on her black cornrows (a habit she did whenever she was shy). "I did it."

"Not bad." He turned it gently sideways and woke the pain in Tots arm.

"Ouch! Careful!"

The man didn't apologize for his carelessness but proceeded to wrap Tots' arm in a tight bandage and a sling. Ra's came up behind the man to hear the prognosis for his new ward.

"I'm sorry my lord, but I'm afraid that the boy won't be able to begin training for at least six weeks. The bone must have time to heal."

"How will it affect his airbending?"

"His chi is blocked in his right arm, but flows perfectly fine within the remainder of his body. He can bend, sort of, but I wouldn't recommend it. His body needs to focus its energy in healing if you want him to recover quickly."

Ra's frowned. Things had certainly not gone according to plan. Instead of apprehending the young airbender unharmed and leaving the rest like he'd planned, he'd ended up having to take all five of the street rats. As an added trouble, the airbender was wounded in such a way that it would make immediate training impossible. He searched for the brighter side to this, like he'd learned to do when every situation did not go according to plan.

He discovered that this predicament could be turned into his advantage after all. He had all of them at his disposal now. Ra's could undoubtedly use the airbender's friends as anchors and leverage to get his cooperation through his training. He also saw that he'd just acquired four extra recruits to his army. And who knew? they may yet present additional uses to them. He'd put them to work the moment they reached his estate, either in the kitchens or in the stables.

They flew for several hours. Sometimes the children spoke with one another, but it was little to no attention to Ra's. Suddenly he looked over to see the small airbender had moved towards him and took the seat next to Ra's. For the longest time the boy remained silent, merely staring at Ra's without saying a single word. Finally the man became uncomfortable with this and leaned down to the boy.

"Did you want to tell me something?"

"We never told you our names." Tots held his good hand out to the man, gesturing for him to shake it. "I'm Tots."

Ra's didn't say anything for a moment, but then his lip quirked and he took the boy's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Tots turned in his seat pointing from one of his friends to the next. "That's Rico, Magnet, Mercy—,"

"AND I'M PIXY!" Announced the little blond girl, popping up suddenly behind their seats and making them both jump with surprise. She held out her hand to shake. "Pixy's short for Pixella Avon Adriana Mona Lisa IX. Nice to meet choo."

Ra's shook her hand and she disappeared behind the seat just as quickly as she'd appeared.

"…And that was Pixy." Tots finished awkwardly pointing to the now empty air she'd currently been occupying.

"Strange names." Observed the older man. "They are not your real ones are they?"

"No."

Ra's attempted small talk with the boy. Perhaps he'd be able to gain trust this way. "So why do they call you Tots?"

"Because I like tater-tots." _Duh!_

That hadn't really been the answer he was expecting but it would suffice. "Well then what of the others? Why are they referred by such aliases?"

The little boy looked blankly at the man as if he hadn't understood what he meant. "What are aliases?"

"They are different titles—or nicknames."

"Oh. Well Rico is our leader and it's short for a different name he used to have which meant leader. And Magnet is called Magnet because he's kinda got sticky fingers. And Mercy tends to lots of animals and little kids that are hurt; she has a big heart. And Pixy… well ya' know I don't really know why everyone calls her Pixy."

Ra's couldn't tell if that was a joke or not. It seemed perfectly obvious to him why she was called such, with her pixy-like appearance and unnaturally cheery attitude, plus the ability to pop up all of a sudden out of nowhere.

Ra's wasn't particularly fond of the idea of addressing them by such ridiculous names. "We may have to find you new identities."

"Are identities like aliases?" Tots asked, scratching his head.

"Yes. They are actually full names one uses to prove who they are with legal documents."

"Why do we need new names?"

"So that we may present you as legal citizens." Then a thought struck him that had not occurred to him. "Do you have another name?"

"Well… sort of, but it's kinda… really embarrassing."

"Well what is it?"

"…Pubert." He said lowly.

Ra's repeated the name over in his mind and it still sounded… horrible! "For the moment I will call you Tots." He announced. He'd find new names for them later. There was more silence as the boy looked at him longer. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?" Ra's said, trying his best to be patient.

"I don't know who my dad is… or my mom." Tots blurted suddenly.

Ra's had not been expecting that. He didn't say anything for a very long moment.

"Do you know who they are?" Tots asked hopefully.

"Why would you expect I might know, Tots?"

"Well you seemed to know an awful lot about everything. I thought you'd heard something about them too."

Ra's shook his head apologetically. "I'm afraid I can't answer that for you."

Tots looked away, clearly disappointed. "Oh. Okay then." He got up and moved back to his old seat next to Mercy, leaving the man to think on his own.

Hours drifted passed and they watched as their plane flew calmly over a vast endless sea. Mercy wondered how far they were above it.

Soon they landed in some unknown country only to be hurried suddenly into another airplane waiting for them. They flew for more hours. The plane navigated safely out of the snow the moment they'd left the US, and the skies were clear through the remainder of their trip. Yet it was dark and as far as the children could tell, they were sailing through tall warm mountains. Just when Magnet thought he couldn't take it anymore, the captain announced that they would be landing shortly.

Mercy shook Tots awake, who'd fallen asleep beside her. "Tots, wake up. We're about to land."

"So…" he said unemotionally trying to get in his shuteye.

"We're about to see where we're going to live. Don't you want to see?"

"Maybe…" He said tiredly, rolling over and falling back into his dreams. Mercy wanted to rouse him again, but decided she would let him sleep for a little while longer. She couldn't blame him. He was only six after all and he'd had quite a fulfilling few days, with meeting Yuki, discovering his airbending, being betrayed by Saber, going after Yuki, breaking his arm, and being apprehended by Ra's Al Ghul, it was no wonder the little boy was exhausted.

Soon their new home came into view and the children couldn't stifle their gasps of amazement. A castle, a real castle, like the ones in the fairytales they'd often heard about. It was lit up with bright lights and perched on top of a cliff with a deep endless trench surrounding it, making it look like a floating island. The sheer vibrant colors of the green and red roof, the cream colored stone, and the numerous sky-high towers lit up like a circus tent, was what made it memorable. Not only was it beautiful, but also the vastness of it spoke evidence of it serving as a fortress for outside invaders. It looked strong enough to withstand an air raid for weeks.

"Wow, a castle! Ooh la la!" Pixy tweeted excitedly, pressing her face against the glass.

Mercy roused Tots again. "Tots wake up, you have to see this." At last boy sat up, rubbing his eye and looked out the window. He blinked, unsure if he wasn't still dreaming.

"Wow! Mr. Ghul, you live here?"

"Yes. This is one of the many places I stay at."

"You mean you have _more_ secret palaces in the mountains?" Magnet cried, baffled by how anyone could ever own so much wealth.

"Among other things." He said unemotionally.

The children exchanged looks by his announcement. It begged the question to wonder if they weren't in fact among royalty. Ra's seemed kingly enough, from their perspective. He had the clothes and servants, not to mention the regal way he held himself, which spoke of both decorum and power.

The helicopter landed on a small pad inside the walls of the castle. The children tried not to feel like they were being escorted to a prison as they caught their last glimpse of the outside world over the walls.

They followed Ra's and his men out of the helicopter and saw they were in what looked like a courtyard at first sight. A ways off, a beautiful woman with ebony hair and silver eyes was waiting for them. With one look at the children, her eyes widened with surprise. She turned her attention to the man quickly and ran up to embrace him.

"Thank goodness you have returned safely, father." Her voice was thick with some European accent. Then she turned to the children. "But father, I thought you only meant to bring back the avatar and little airbender you spoke of."

"Plans changed, daughter. I could not take one without bringing them all."

"Ah, I see." The woman nodded as if understanding now. The friends moved closer together, wary as she drew near to them. She smiled kindly and held out a hand to Tots who was being guarded cautiously by Mercy in her usually big-sister-like way. "Hello there. You must be the little airbender. My name is Talia. I hope you like it here."

She seemed nice, so Tots took her hand and shook it politely. "I'm Tots."

Talia nodded and turned to Pixy who was the closest to Tots's age in their group. "And this must be the famous Avatar. I'm so honored to be in your presence."

The little girl giggled, dropping all suspicion she might've had about this woman before. "Pixy is not the Avatar." The little girl said proudly, "Pixy is _only_ Pixy."

"Oh, my mistake." She turned to the rest of them. "So who is the avatar? It must be you," She said looking at Mercy, who was the only girl remaining. "But you're much older than I suspected."

This was true. Where the real avatar wasn't a day older than seven, Mercy showed to be at least twelve. "Yuki isn't with us." Mercy tried to explain.

"Who's Yuki?"

"Yuki's the avatar." Tots announced.

"What? You mean the avatar is not with you?"

"No, it's just us." Mercy said looking at each of them in turn.

The woman looked baffled. She looked at Tots and she looked at the rest of the children. Then she stood and walked to her father. They spoke low and in hushed whispers the children couldn't hear. Ra's turned to his servants and issued them to take the children to their rooms while he discussed things with his daughter.

The servants obeyed at once and the children were herded away. They walked up several flights of stairs before they came to the first room, where Magnet and Rico would be staying. They turned to another room next door, where Pixy and Mercy would be sharing together.

"Yay, bunk beds." Pixy cried delightedly. "I call top!" She jumped up lightly and did a handspring to one of the beds landing with a bounce. The rooms were nice for themselves. They each had a window, a wardrobe, a mirror, and a little bathroom with a toilet, and sink but no bath or shower.

"Where am I staying?" Tots asked as the two boys and girls got settled into their quarters.

"The master has set up private living quarters for you in another tower." Said one of the servants.

"What? Tots is going to be all by himself?" Mercy just couldn't believe it. Tots had never had to sleep all by himself before. He was six years old and terrified of the dark.

"But… I want to be near my friends." The boy tried to explain. "I don't want to be alone."

"There's nothing we can do about that." The servant announced. "We must obey the master's orders. Your friends were not expected so they must stay were they are ordered." And with that, they began the long trek to the little boy's room. Tots hated walking alone. He hated being away from his friends. He hated having to stay in a big dark room alone with a broken arm.

He wanted to be near his adopted family. Even if it meant he had to sleep on the floor, it was better to share a room than be by himself in a strange place, where strange people were just a few feet away. He had no means in which to even defend himself if something should happen. He couldn't remember there ever being a time when he couldn't curl up next to Mercy as he fell asleep.

Even when his worst nightmares came to haunt him, the girl had always been there to comfort and show him the motherly affection he could never remember. He wanted to be with her, not in some big nice room in a creepy castle.

They finally reached two pretty French doors that reached all the way up to the ceiling. Tots wondered how anyone could ever be strong enough to possibly open it without being the size of a muscle wrestler.

"And this is your room, little airbender." One of the servants announced, opening the door and stepping aside for the little boy.

Tots looked around and saw that this was a very nice room after all. It was circular room at least twice the size of his friends' quarters combined. There was a hand carved desk and cushioned chairs, a four-poster queen sized bed, a wardrobe, a bathroom, it even had a fireplace. And the whole room was surrounded by tall never-ending windows.

Tots had been given the royal treatment. It was literally as if he were a prince himself.

Even still he'd rather be with his friends in their lesser rooms than all alone in here. The size of this space just made him feel worse.

"It is quite late." Announced the servant who had spoken first. "I suggest you get your sleep. You start early tomorrow. There are pajamas in the closet for you. Goodnight."

And with that the servants closed the door and Tots was left all alone in the big princely room.

He looked around and wondered how in the world could he have ended up like this. For as long as he'd been alive, he seemed to be like the rest of the children in the gang: lost, orphaned, alone, unwanted, and poor. But it was okay because they all had each other and they were their own family. Mercy being the mother, Rico taking on the role as the skeptical father, Magnet acting as an older brother, Pixy as the kooky sister, and Tots the little brother. It had always been that way somehow. Always.

The earliest memory Tots had was of being held gently and being set down on an orphanage doorstep by some dark unseen person. He wondered now if it might have been his mother or father. The more he concentrated on that face, the more he seemed to forget it.

He wondered what in the world it could have been to make them leave him like this.

Why didn't they want him? Or perhaps they had no choice. But couldn't they have left him someplace safer? He'd nearly been killed four times since he was brought into this life style. The streets weren't exactly the safest place to grow up.

* * *

><p>"So uh this airbending stuff. What do you know about it?" Tots asked when he met with Ra's Al Ghul the next morning. They both stood together in a study of some sort.<p>

His friends were busy with other duties that day. On Ra's orders, the boys would train to become guards and Pixy would work in the stables, tending to the animals. Normally Mercy would be working in the kitchens, but the girl had insisted she accompany Tots. She didn't trust Ra's or any of his men with the little boy. While Ra's explained things to him, she sat off to the side watching him intently and mending a shirt that belonged to Pixy.

Ra's noticed her, but she kept a distance, remaining on the sidelines without interrupting the session. Ra's shrugged it off and continued with his lesson.

"Air is the element of freedom." The older man informed, painting black swirls that looked like air currents on a piece of rice paper with a brush. "While I lived in that other earth, the air nomads lived as monks in high temples. There they separated themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. You understand of course that I have no bending abilities, so most of your study will depend on theory and experiments of your own. There's also the concern with your broken arm." He pointed to the new cast that had been applied that morning. "For the weeks it will take to heel, you will study hard in the fields of language, math, science, physics, history, and geometry."

"What about art?"

"No. No art." Ra's stated bluntly.

"How bout cooking?"

Ra's stared at him, an eyebrow cocked in disapproval. "No."

And so his training began. And so all their training began.

The boys were trained personally by Ra's own bodyguard, Ubu. He instructed them on the ways of the sword, knives, bow and arrow, halberd, and every other weapon they could name. The one weapon to which Ubu thoroughly despised were guns.

"Guns are ruthless and difficult to control." He told the boys after Magnet had asked why they didn't learn about basic ammunition. "They are a quick weapon and can kill with a slip. While you may wish to capture your enemy alive, a single mishap from a pistol can result in your aim slipping from the leg to the heart."

"Can't that happen to a sword as well?" Rico asked.

"With all weapons, yes, but not as easily with hand to hand combat as distance weapons." He demonstrated his theory by swinging a long blade about expertly. "When you handle a sword, it is imperative that you treat it as an extended part of yourself."

"Like an extra leg." Magnet observed.

"Well… more like an extra long really sharp arm." Ubu corrected patiently. "With a gun or bow you must see your target and aim. Once the weapon has left you, you no longer have control over where it travels. Once it's gone it's gone. But with a sword you can feel it in the vibrations and barriers it meets. You control it till it leaves you. Understand now?"

"Yeah, I get it." Rico said quickly.

"Good. Now take a wooden sword and you both will begin sparing."

They advanced quickly. Living on the streets for most of their lives, the hard conditions had forced them to defend themselves more than once from rival gangs and muggers. Ubu was surprised by the talent they'd conducted by working together as a team. They fought so brilliantly, it was as if they'd rehearsed it. Even still Ubu quickly out took them during their sparing matches.

Pixy though, didn't stay in the stables for too long. During an afternoon where Ra's was discussing plans with his men in the hopes of hacking into a national data bank, his men sighed in defeat after two days of pounding against hundreds of firewalls. Pixy had been listening from an air vent in the ceiling. Curious about this new challenge that they spoke of, she attempted to use her own program to find it. A mere three minutes passed and she yipped with glee at her success.

"Pixy found it. Yay!" She leapt out from a grate and landed with a bounce. The men whirled around, clearly taken off guard by the little girl.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?" Cried one of the technicians viciously. "This place is off limits to you."

Pixy didn't pay him any attention, only bounded over to the advanced computers and plugged her custom program in, displaying what she'd found on the big screen.

"TA DA!" She cried in singsong.

They all gaped at the screen. "That's the National Data Bank we were looking for." One of the technicians said, disbelievingly. "We couldn't hack into that after two days with our smartest computers. And she got it in just a few minutes with this piece of junk?" He pointed to the tacky looking computer she had strapped to her side, which resembled more like a cardboard box with peeling, little marker doodles, and stickers on the sides. Her game controllers were hooked to it and seemed to be navigating the little hacking fairy around, while her goggles showed her progress like a screen.

Ra's was more interested than angry when he realized what the girl was capable of.

Within a few more minutes, Pixy had done what the technicians couldn't accomplish in two days with their advanced computers. Seeing now that the stables were certainly no place for her, Ra's teamed her with his computer technicians to hack and decode whatever he needed. Most days there wasn't much for her to do, and she casually strode about the halls playing with her computer and looking up whatever interested her. Other times people could find her napping in curious places such as in an air vent, a stairway, a rug, or on a gargoyle with her arms folded under her head and her legs dangling over each side.

In a way her behavior resembled the activities of a cat; sleeping and eating when she wanted. Thankfully though, her work was outstanding and she was more than happy to drop her napping time to find another mystifying challenge for Ra's when he needed it. When she wasn't napping or working, she entertained herself by inventing mechanical little toys from whatever she could salvage from junk piles.

"ZOOOOOOOM! Watch your head." She sang when Ubu walked through the door and barely had time to duck as a helicopter made from a bottle, cans, and a box whooshed through the air towards his skull.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay I have to be honest. My original character Pixy is actually inspired by Edward from Cowboy Bebop. Ever seen that series? No? Well you should, because it's really good. I totally loved it, but only because of Radical Edward. The other characters weren't all that interesting to me. If you get the chance you should try watching that series cuz it's awsome.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
>Come What May<p>

They coasted calmly through the sky with the full moon illuminating the night. The whole Batclan and Yuki sat in the private jet Bruce had for long trips such as this. The landscape consisted mostly of mountainous terrain decked with high snow and thick forests. It was well below freezing outside of the jet but thankfully the heaters kept them nice and snug inside.

"I don't think you're going to be able to spot our camp from up here." She told Bruce when they reached the mountains.

"Why's that?'

"Well, it's sort of a very well hidden camp."

"Nothing our scanners can't pick up," Bruce said, confident in his technology's efficiency. "Unless it's underground."

"Well… not exactly anyways."

"What do you mean?" Tim said curiously.

"It's kinda hard to explain. You'll just have to see it to believe."

Yuki watched outside the windows as the earth moved swiftly passed them. She marveled at the speed they were going. Not even the airships or sky bison back home had this kind of velocity. She rested her head against the window and stared, entranced by the changing ground. Suddenly she perked, spotting something in the dark.

"Hey, I know that place!" She cried pointing down to a tall rock structure. Unlike the rest of the terrain, which was crude and uneven as natural stones often are, these were two perfect giant blocks. It was the starting marker leading the way to the camp. "Can you land? We need to go on foot from here on out."

"Foot?" Tim repeated, stunned by the mere suggestion. "We have to actually use our legs?"

Bruce lowered the jet to the earth and turned to his partners. "Come on everyone, get your coats on."

They filed outside with Yuki leading. The blocks where the size of small buildings, but completely solid by the looks of them. Bruce touched the stone and studied it.

"It doesn't appear to have been carved by anything."

"Of course not." Yuki said matter-of-factly. "This is the work of earthbenders."

"So your camp ground is pretty close, right?" Dick asked surveying their surroundings.

"Yeah, this is definitely the start point." She pointed into the mountain. "We have at least three more miles to go. There'll be markers along the trail to lead us there."

"Are they easy to spot?"

"For me." She added marching up the trail excitedly. She turned when she noticed they weren't following. "Come on you guys wait till you see it."

"Yuki, wait." Bruce said. "You told me that your friends were attacked a few days ago. It might be that whoever did it found your hideout and could be waiting for someone to come back."

"I really don't see how they could've," Yuki announced confidently. "The hideout is well hidden. Even I didn't see it when I first got here."

Bruce really couldn't take the perception of a six year old too seriously. Lots of people tended to notice things that others missed and he couldn't take that chance. Not with his friends and comrades. Not with Yuki… not with the avatar.

"We could be walking right into a trap." Barbara added.

"But you said you wanted to come." Yuki pointed out. "It was your idea to come here, not mine."

Bruce sighed. It _had_ been his decision to come despite what he knew about this place. And it had also been his decision to put his friends' lives at risk. He trotted forward and followed Yuki down the road. With their leader's discretion, the three others followed close behind.

They walked on and thankfully the night remained clear on through the morning. Yuki took up the lead, occasionally catching something the others missed; a strange rock formation, an oddly shaped pool, a song from a rock when a breeze blew through, and a smell that resembled burning wood. It seemed she had every sense on high alert in case she missed something. The others had no idea what they were supposed to be looking out for and sufficed with simply following her lead.

At last she stopped, exclaiming aloud. "We're here! This is it."

They looked out at the edge of a huge empty ravine. Thick misty clouds drifted under them at the altitude they were up. There was absolutely nothing here. They looked back at the cliff face, but there was no way anyone could've put a hide out on the smooth flat rock.

"Uh Yuki," Tim informed skeptically, "there's nothing here."

"Yes there is." Yuki insisted. "It's under us."

They all looked to the ground but it was normal snow covered dirt. Yuki ran quickly over to an icy block and waterbended it from its solid formation. A steep narrow stairway was reviled when the ice fell away. She ran down, pure excitement outlined in every movement of her body.

"Yuki, hold on. Wait for us." Dick called, his voice echoing off the walls.

But Yuki wasn't paying attention as she babbled on about her friends and what they usually did during their free time at their camp. "Just wait till you see the giant shungi board and the whistling towers."

From the way she was babbling one could definitely tell this was way more than just a campsite.

When they came out and saw it, they couldn't stifle the gasps it'd caused.

"Oh my gosh!" Barbara murmured with amazement.

They were looking upon a whole Chinese temple that was upside down suspended from the rock and cliff side. What appeared to be the roof was actually where people were supposed to walk around like a balcony that encircled all the way around. There were at least three of these temples as well as bridges connecting them together. Below them there was nothing but emptiness as clouds billowed under. On the cliff side, there were elevators to lower things and people to the debts below.

None of them could deny, this was a spectacular hide out. It even put the Batcave to shame.

"How do you like it?" Yuki said with a trace of pride. "It's a perfect replica of the Western Air Temple in the Fire Nation. Earth benders helped construct it."

"It's amazing." Tim said, smiling at the thought of fun he could have in this place.

"Yeah, this is way unlike anything I could've imagined. But, where is everyone." Barbara asked looking around at the deserted hideout.

Yuki seemed to only just notice the eerie silence of the once upbeat fort.

"REN? MIEKO?" Yuki shouted, trying to see if there was anyone home. Bruce covered her mouth suddenly pressing his finger to his lips to issue her caution.

"Let's look around before we draw attention to ourselves." He cautioned the others. They nodded at this idea. Yuki went along with it but apparently her care didn't seem to sustain her excitement for long. She went about pointing to various parts of the temple and describing her favorite spots of an otherwise dead hideout.

"And over there is the dormitories, and there is where the animals stayed in. Ooh, ooh and over there is where me and my friends would play, bending ball."

"What's bending ball?" Tim asked curious about any type of game.

"It's where you have a rubber ball and you try and hit it into your opponent's goal by using your bending abilities." She looked at the field and gradually a sad faraway look entered her face.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed sadly and looked out at the place that she'd called home for so long. "This place used to be full of benders and people and friends and animals… now it's just a bunch of rocks. Where'd everyone go? How could it get like this in only a few weeks?"

Bruce came up behind her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everyone is alright wherever they are. There doesn't appear to be any signs of struggle around here. Maybe they had an escape plan if all came to worse."

Barbara and Dick exchanged glances. Those words were valuable coming from Bruce, who was never known to be optimistic about these kinds of things. He'd always been grim, but maybe he was saying these things to keep Yuki from panicking at the first moment.

Eventually they all decided to split up and cover more ground like that.

Bruce and Barbara went in one direction and Dick, Tim, and Yuki went another.

* * *

><p>"So what do you think, Bruce?" Barbara said as they servayed a large stone chamber with a giant game set with a stone board and big game pieces off to the side.<p>

"I'm not sure." He admitted studying one of the arrow-shaped. "It's like these people disapeared into thin air. It's as if they've been gone for years and years. Whatever they were running from they made sure to cover their tracks perfectly."

"The crazy thing is, they didn't leave anything behind. Nothing that could give us any clues."

"Unless we're not the first ones here."

"Are you saying that someone else could've come and taken whatever evidence was here?"

"It's a possibility."

"Do you think it might've been the Azulons?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. But I wish I knew more about them to make any assumptions."

"Yuki is terrified of them. Makes you wonder really what she might be fearing."

Bruce was silent for a moment. "I don't want to think about it."

* * *

><p>Yuki seemed to know precisely where she was. Eventually she turned into a large room where a soft flute like music was playing. "This is the whistle room. Wind comes through that big hole at the top of the ceiling and then it blows through pipes and stuff with holes inside the walls. Me and my friends come here when we want to listen to some music. And you can also make your own tunes by blowing in these big tubes over here." She went over to what appeared to be a mouthpiece attached to a huge pipe, took a large breathe of air and blew a low droning note, which traveled through an assortment of other pipes creating both low and high notes. She laughed at the tuneless music she'd created.<p>

She gestured to the other two. "You guys try."

Tim shrugged and came over. "Heck, why not." He blew into the mouth piece and surprised when his breath came out a different pipe, making a high, squeaking chirp. Yuki laughed at that.

Dick came over when it was his turn and blew as hard as he could. What came out resembled more of a spitting raspberry than a note at all. The two youngest laughed at his attempt and Dick glared, preparing to try again with more determination.

Suddenly, they all jumped when they heard a noise behind them. Without a word they dodged behind some pillars and waited anxiously for the person to step into view. They saw a large shadow cut across the floor. Whatever it was, it was huge and had what appeared to be horns. They heard scuffling and loud sniffs as if it were trying to search them out through their smell. Dick motioned to the other's who'd taken different hiding places. On three everyone would jump out and surprise it simultaneously.

One… two… THREE!

They all popped out together, brandishing weapons and turning towards the threat. Boy did they feel silly when they saw what it was.

A tiny white ball of fluff with big, yellow ears, large yellow eyes, a stubby little tale, and bat-like wings stood in the doorway.

Yuki cooed at the sight of it. "Awe it's a cute little arctic bat cave baby."

"A what?"

She reached her hand out to it and beckoned it to her gently. But then something spooked the little creature. It turned around quickly, and rushed down the stone corridor.

"Hey wait a minute." Yuki cried, chasing after it.

"Yuki wait." Tim said, following after her. "It might have rabies."

Tim and Dick both followed after her but Yuki knew her home much better than they did. She ran quickly out of one corridor, following the little creature up the secret stairway and onto a cliff that was not part of the temple. She went into what had once been a green house used to store herbs, yet now grew nothing but weeds.

"I'm not going to hurt you little guy." She announced gingerly. "I just want to be friends. There you are!" She followed it behind a low curtain but stopped when she saw the sight before her.

A dead woman lay in a pile of hay in front of her. Her body was tilted at an unnatural angle and her dark hair fanned out around her in long disheveled lochs. A bloody, gaping hole punctured her chest and a trickle of blood dripped from her mouth. Her face was pale with death and her eyes stared lifelessly at the little girl before her. The sight was quite gory. With one look, Yuki knew exactly who it was.

"Yuna." She whispered as a rock dropped in her stomach at the sight of her dead big sister. Her legs gave out under her and her knees hit the ground. Yuki's hands came up to her face as the realization and pain filled her. Gone was the teasing from before, emptied at this horrible sight. Tears stung her eyes as they fell, hot and wet down her palms.

"Yuki?" Dick called entering the green house. He followed the sobs, which he mistook to be giggles at first. He drew back the curtain and entered, seeing first Yuki crouched to the ground in grief, then his eyes came up to see the reason for her sorrow. "Oh man." He whispered, horrorstruck. She felt his warm palm on her shoulder as he attempted to comfort her. "It'll be okay, Yuki. Let's just get out of here."

She didn't move, or respond, or anything to his suggestion. Suddenly her wrist with the single, swirling birthmark lit up in a burning white light. Dick stepped back as her eyes began to take on the same brilliant glow. Her pain, her sorrow, her rage was transformed into a swirling vortex of power in that one instant.

Tim entered just in time to watch as the little girl was consumed suddenly in a whirlwind of snow and debris. Freezing air stung at both their faces the longer they stared. But they couldn't turn away. It was so unlike anything either of them had ever seen in their short lives.

The older of the two seemed to sense the danger just in time. "GET DOWN!" He shouted pulling Tim behind a boulder as a blast of wind and ice blew the green house to pieces.

"What's happening to Yuki?" Tim shouted over the storm.

"It must be her infinite powers of the universe, or something along those lines." Dick called. "Bruce said something about it before we left. She's able to trigger it through extreme trauma."

"Well call Bruce. Maybe he can help!"

* * *

><p>Bruce and Barbara ran towards the direction in which the commotion was coming from.<p>

"What happened?" he shouted at Dick, who was busy enough clinging to a boulder to keep from blowing off the side of the mountain.

"It's Yuki." He shouted over the windstorm. "Yuna's dead. She found the body in that house and she went ballistic."

"It's the avatar state." Bruce realized at once. "She must've triggered it at the sight of her dead sister. I'm going to try and calm her down."

"Well hurry up, before she blows us off the mountain." Dick cried making a grab for Tim as a huge gust of wind and snow threatened to blow the smallest of them away. He snatched up the boy's hand before he could fly off like the alias bird boy he was supposed to be in battle.

Bruce fought the windstorm as debris and ice blew mercilessly in his face like a furious blizzard. "Yuki please listen to me." He shouted through the roar of wind and ice. She didn't respond in any seen way to his words and he wondered vaguely if she could hear him at all. He continued even still, a bit louder this time. "I know how you feel about your sister. We've all gone through pains like this one. We've all lost people we care about; siblings, friends… parents." Bruce knew only too well the grief and agony he spoke of, but talking about it was even worse because it showed how much he cared, it showed his weakness. He pressed on though, because it was what Yuki needed to hear more than anything right now. "The truth is… we're all orphans. But you're not alone. You have a family. Us… we're your family now."

Yuki's form didn't change for a moment. And then Bruce could faintly see her body begin to lower to the earth once more. The winds died down till the air was once more still again. Yuki stood strait and tall as if in a trance. Bruce ran up to her but saw her eyes were still glowing with the energy of the avatar. He was cautious of making any sudden movements in case he woke the dormant powers up once more. Instinctively he put a hand on her shoulder, silently telling her he was here for her.

Her eyes dimmed till they were at last the calming color of her native element. She fainted with the exertion the avatar state had implied on her young physique and Bruce was quick to catch her.

"It wasn't a dream." She whispered sadly. "My sister really is dead."

"Yuki, I'm so sorry." He murmured to her.

She shook her head, tears growing at the corners of her eyes. "Is there time to give her a proper burial?"

Bruce looked down at her and saw her eyes were moist. He nodded, smiling sympathetically. "Yes. There's time."

* * *

><p>It hadn't been difficult to find the necessary items in which to provide a customary water tribe burial among the temple. Yuki and Barbara took the responsibility in taking care of the body while the men found a list of things Yuki said they would need: a little boat, furs, an oil lamp, and a pole. Yuki had found Yuna's best coat, her opal earrings, and her favorite ivory hairpieces. Yuki cleaned the blood from her face and fashioned her hair up in the traditional Water Tribe styled bun Yuna always wore it in. Barbara marveled at the extreme care the little girl took to make sure her sister was beautiful the last time she ever saw her. The way she combed her hair out, and how she ran the sponge over her face to wash away the dirt and blood. It was entrancing to watch such a process and how the little girl knew just what to do and how to treat such a fragile body.<p>

"Have you done this before?" Barbara asked without thinking.

Yuki didn't look away from her sister as she answered. "Once, when my grandparents died. Yuna said it was customary in our culture for family members to tend to the bodies of our relatives."

"What about your parents?"

Yuki turned from the woman, reaching for the other pretty opal earring. Her voice was bitter as she answered Barbara, "They said there wasn't much of my parents left to bury."

Barbara stared. Suddenly she was very sorry she'd asked about such a tender subject. From those few words she could assume that her parents' deaths had been pretty graphic for a little girl. Somehow, she'd grown up quite a lot in the last few minutes.

By the time they were finished, the beaten, bloody woman from before lay before them as a beautiful lady of the Water Tribe. Gone was the dirt, the blood, and the gore to be replaced by grace and elegance.

Four hours later, they stood together at the edge of a wide snowy river. Fog surrounded them on all sides but strangely it didn't frighten them like normal mist did. In contrast, it seemed to send off a peaceful aura.

"She looks like she's sleeping." Tim announced as Bruce lied her down in the fur-lined boat. "I've never been to a funeral before."

"What about your father's?" Barbara asked, surprised by his announcement.

"It wasn't really official." Tim said, remembering back to how his father was found dead in a river by police inspectors. They'd never given him a formal funeral. Tim told himself it didn't matter really. His father had never been much of a father anyways.

Yuki sent him a sympathetic look. She used the pole to hang the lamp from and stuck it in a hole at the base of the boat nearest to Yuna's head. She stepped back and observed her handiwork. The golden glow cast from the opaque animal skin was soft enough not to hurt their eyes, but bright enough to illuminate the woman and make her seem like a foreign sleeping princess.

No one said anything for a long time, fearful to destroy the tranquil mood.

"Maybe we should say something." Barbara suggested, breaking the tension surrounding them.

"Yuki, is there anything you want to say?" Bruce asked when Dick had finished. Everyone turned to her but she only stared at her sister's still body.

She spoke in a murmur, hardly loud enough to stir the air. "The chief of our tribe said something about our people when our parents died. I think I remember some of it." Her voice grew wishful as she recited the words as best she could remember. "From the ocean we were given life. From the moon we were given strength and the power to control the waves. As children of both moon and water we must return our bodies to that balance from which we hail from. Which is why we send this child to the waves once more."

Her voice drifted over them in a memorable phrase. Those words were so unlike anything a six-year-old would ever say, yet ended up sounding like the perfect thing for such a solemn occasion.

Without a word or a pause, Yuki pulled up her hood and went over to the boat. She shoved against it with a grunt, attempting to push it in the water. The boat was much too heavy for a little girl and, as if on cue, everyone assisted in sending the boat off to its final destination.

The thing hung about for a moment, not getting much distance once it was completely afloat, but with a soft push of waterbending from Yuki, and the canoe drifted away. They all watched as the fog embraced it like a mother for her child, until the light from the lamp disappeared completely behind the wall of mist.

Yuki kept her eyes on that glow until it was gone completely. She hated to say goodbye and at once thoughts and memories of her dear big sister filled her; Yuna, throwing Yuki high in the air and then catching her again when she came down. Yuna, teaching Yuki how to stew sea prunes. Yuna, chasing Yuki playfully on a hot beach. Yuna, standing up for Yuki after the old waterbending teacher spoke cruelly to her. Yuna, telling her bedtime stories of Avatar Aang and his many adventures. Yuna, showing her basic waterbending forms despite the fact that she possessed no bending abilities. Yuna, comforting Yuki after their parents passed away. Yuna, Yuna, Yuna.

Always there.

Always with her.

Always looking out for her.

…And now she was gone forever and ever.

The thoughts brought tears to her eyes. She just didn't want to say goodbye but the moment the light disappeared in the mist, she knew she would never see that beautiful kind face ever again. She rubbed at her eyes, trying not to come off as a crybaby, but it was too hard to keep it all inside her. Bruce came up behind her like before when she lost control of the avatar state, and put his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. She looked up through wet eyes and embraced his knees.

She had to remember he lost people he loved in his life, too. With that in mind, she somehow felt more connected to him in ways she never expected.

"I'll—bet she turns into a spirit." She announced through sniffs. "Like the Painted Lady or Princess Yue of the moon." It helped to think of her sister like that; as something mysterious, powerful, and beautiful. It gave her hope of seeing her again someday. Maybe she'd end up protecting the river and the people who would someday come here. The question of whether anyone would ever really come here, was a mystery, but Yuki had a feeling, and it's sometimes best to trust those kinds of feelings.

* * *

><p>Yuki didn't say much during the trip back to the mansion, and no one felt like talking much anyways. Sometimes words aren't enough, and it's especially so if you can't find the right ones to say.<p>

Something inside Yuki changed with that experience. She was still a little girl, despite what she'd had to endure, so she still played and giggled like normal children. Yet there were moments when the others could see something in her eyes; a sort of ancient wisdom they hadn't noticed before. ISomehow though, it had always been there, just small. But now it was clear; it was almost tangible in a way.

Bruce glanced back at her to see how she was doing. Her face leaned against the glass and she had an odd expression as she surveyed the landscape below them. It wasn't sad, just emotionless; weary in a way even.

When the jet landed at last Yuki didn't move for a moment. She had a dazed, far away look in her eyes, as though her mind was out of her body. Bruce waited for a moment to see if she would rouse once she realized the plane wasn't moving anymore, but she didn't.

"Yuki," he said softly, "We're back."

She stirred, looked up for a moment, then blinked as if surprised they were there already. "We're back? I thought we left just a few minutes ago."

"No, we've been flying for four hours." Dick said.

Yuki looked stunned, but it was brief. She shrugged casually and got up, following the others out towards the stairway to the mansion. Alfred came down bearing a tray of tea and cookies. When he saw the others he looked surprised.

"Oh, back already? I expected it would take longer to investigate the campground. I was just preparing a light snack for myself while I watched the monitors."

"Anything interesting?" Bruce asked.

"Well there was a robbery reported on the Gilded Art Museum but the police were successful in rounding up the crooks alone. It appears Bullock was a little—,"

"Ahhh!" Tim called cutting Alfred off quickly. Everyone turned to see him duck quickly to the side as something white and yellow came zooming from one of the wheels of the jet. "We had a stowaway!" He cried when the thing zoomed to the others and crawled onto Yuki's shoulders like it knew her.

"Hey it's that… thing from before." Dick said, recognizing the animal that had led them to Yuna's body.

"An arctic bat cave baby." Yuki said reaching up and patting it on the head. It cooed with her touch and leaned into her like a cat.

"Looks like you've got a new friend." Barbara said, folding her arms behind her. "What are you going to call it?"

It's eyes caught on something just then and jumped from Yuki's shoulders. It returned just as quickly, sipping from the teacup and munching on a cookie Alfred had been intending to eat himself.

Yuki smiled. "Ollo."

"Why Ollo?" Tim asked rubbing his head where he'd landed on it.

Yuki pointed to the little animal sipping on the teacup from where she could distinctly smell the flavor simmering inside. "Cause it's like oolong, only neater."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, I admit it. I stole basically this whole scene from the Avatar series. I am a big fat crook. But did you like it anyway?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
>Like a Feather<p>

When the six weeks it took for his arm to heal were completed, Tots had formed a basic comprehension of rudimentary knowledge. During those days he'd noticed that Ra's focused mostly on science and physics with the rest of the subjects taught on the sidelines. Tots also found out that Ra's was an environmentalist. Their lessons often took them to the green house where Ra's taught the boy everything he knew about how to take care of plants and animals. Tot's found he actually liked the work. He liked being near the earth and knowing how to tend it.

"When you are a few years older and have master a few levels of airbending, I will take you on missions with me." Ra's said to Tots one afternoon when they were discussing the deterioration of rainforests.

"Missions? You mean like field trips?"

"No, I mean quests that have a purpose and a goal."

"Oh really? So am I going to be like a secret spy or agent or something like that?"

"Not exactly, but something of the sort I suppose."

He grinned. "Sweet."

When at last it was time for him to bend, Ra's stood with him in the courtyard.

"The one thing you should know about airbending," He said with his arms crossed, "is that it is dynamic." He saw the blank look on Tots' face with his words. "Lively, in other words. Benders are able to use air to enhance their abilities. With time, you'll be able to run faster, jump higher, and even fly."

"You can teach me how to fly?"

"And even more."

Tot's face nearly split in two with how wide his smile grew. Ra's continued, trying to bring him down to earth again. "I've studied much from other martial arts around the world and I've learned that Airbending resembles a form of Chinese fighting called Baguazhang."

"Bag-zinger?"

"Baguashang." Ra's corrected. "In Baguashang, movements employ the whole body with smooth coiling and uncoiling actions." He took a defensive stance to show him. Instinctively, Tots took the same stance. Ra's flung his arms out with his hands flat and open. Tots copied him. "By utilizing your body flow you create rapid-fire movements to draw energy from the center of the abdomen."

"So I guess most of this comes from breathing techniques huh?"

Ra's actually looked pleased by how quickly he'd been able to catch on. "Yes indeed."

At that moment he signaled for one of his servants to come over. "Normally, bending does not require a weapon, although I have seen benders enhance their abilities by applying their bending with tools." Ra's handed him a tall wooden staff. "This is an airbending staff. My people carved it especially for you to use. Treat it well."

Tots examined it. To him it didn't seem much different than a normal smoothed stick. But then his fingers traced over what felt to be a button. Curious, he pressed it. He jumped and dropped it to the ground when fans folded out and smacked him in the face.

"Yikes! What was that?"

"Those were the wings." Ra's said, picking it up carefully and handing it back to the boy. "Be more careful with it."

"Wings?" Tots repeated with confusion. Then his face lit up when he understood. "You mean I get to fly around with this?" Ra's nodded. "Cool!"

"By manipulating the air currents around you, you will be able to glide freely on your own."

"Awesome. So how do I do that exactly?"

"Try with a running start and then leapt and prop your feet up on the back wings."

Mercy came up at that moment, following closely along with their conversation on the sidelines. Normally she never interupted their lessons, but this felt a little unsafe to her. "Uh sir, are you sure this is the best way for him to learn airbending?"

Ra's smiled, "I'm glad you asked that. As a matter of fact, there is a better way."

* * *

><p>Five minutes later they were gathered above the tallest tower in the palace. Tots gaped, staring down into the wide-open nothing below them. Ra's stood next to him with his arms behind his back, looking unquestionably cool as the chill air blew his hair back.<p>

"Oh my gosh!" Tots murmured, looking down fearfully.

"Now you can sense the air a lot better from this altitude. This way, you'll really have to sense the currents if you want to fly." He turned back to the dark skinned girl behind them. "Thank you, Mercy."

"YEAH! Thanks Mercy!" Tots hissed glaring back at the girl. She smiled regretfully and rubbed her neck.

Ra's gestured to the empty air. "Go ahead, young one. Show us what you can do."

Tots stepped near the edge, clutching at his staff and looking down into the darkness. It looked so much deeper compared to when they were in the helicopter. "Um… you know, maybe I'm just the kind of airbender that doesn't fly after all. You know like those birds who can't fly or those fish that don't swim but just sort of crawl on the floor and stuff."

"Don't let your fear get the better of you." Ra's told him. "More than one airbender has felt scared their first time trying to fly."

Tots sputtered, puffing himself up and chuckling slightly. "Pfft ha, ha… scared? I'm not scared. I'm just a little uncomfortable with jumping off a building into a deep, dark pit of nothing with only a little stick. Did you even test this thing to make sure it works?"

"My people put every ounce of care that they could muster into fashioning that tool for you. It will serve you well."

Tots turned back to the edge. He took a deep breath, and before he could loose his nerve again he leapt into the nothing that would catch him. He felt the cold air rush passed him as he neared the ground. "AH!" He cried out with the surprise, and then his shriek turned into laughter as he felt the currents lift him up like a feather. Now he rose higher than the towers, guiding the glider around them effortlessly. "This is incredible." He shouted to Ra's and the others below. "But wait a minute," He began to panic when he realized a dilemma, "How do I land this—ACK, BLAH! BUG! ICK! I swallowed a bug! Ugh!"

Pixy spotted him from a tower and leapt to her feet when she saw the airborne little boy. "Tater Tots is flying! Flying! Fly! Like a butterfly! Hiiiiiii, Tater Tots!"

Tots maneuvered the glider to the courtyard Magnet and Rico were practicing in. They stopped momentarily to wave up at him. "Woo-hoo! Go Tots!"

He grinned happily down at them. His focus wasn't on the glider anymore, when he looked up at last, it was too late to correct his error. He crashed head first into an open window. Shrieks followed when he realized where he was. The women soldier's bathing rooms. And he'd landed on top of one of them!

"IMYGOSH! IAMSOSORRY!"

"Little rat." She cried as he sprung to his feet, embarrassed. She grabbed a towel and a bar of soap and threw it at him. Several others did the same. "Get out of here!"

"Sorry!" Tots cried out as he rushed back from where he crashed through, covering his head and dodging the flying missiles. He pounced on the windowsill and leapt into the air nearly forgetting to use his glider. By the time he'd opened it, the roof of the building below, collided with his skull and he blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Tots? Tots?" he opened his eyes when his ears picked up the familiar voice. Mercy's big brown eyes stared down at him with concern. "Are you alright?"<p>

He blinked, looking up into the faces of his friends surrounding him. He tried to recall the last thing he remembered. "What happened?"

"Tater Tots got a bonk on his ba-donki-donk." Pixy said beside him. She tenderly touched a bandaged area over his left eye. "Gotta bad scrapy right there."

Tots flinched and rubbed the place above his eye. His mind clicked on what had happened that moment and he sat up quickly, searching himself for other injuries. The moment he moved he wished he hadn't. The sudden movement ruptured the pain and he held his sides tenderly.

"The fall gave you some pretty nasty bruises." Mercy informed when she saw his distress. "You got pretty cut up too. I bandaged them up and Rina had to give you a few stitches." She patted the side of Tot's head that wasn't injured. "I'm so happy you're alright, Tots. I want to hug you but I know it would just make the pain worse."

"Thanks for resisting. Boy am I in a world of hurt right now." Tots said leaning up and holding his sides. "So how long was I out."

"Not too long. A day at least." Magnet told him.

"You need to eat something." Mercy suddenly jumped, up heading for the door. "Man, and the kitchens are all the way on the other side of the palace. Don't you dare let him out of bed, you hear me." She called to the others, as she rushed to find Tots some food.

Once she was gone they all turned back to the little boy

"You gave us a good scare there, buddy." Rico said beside Magnet.

"It must have been at least fifty feet. You landed on the armory roof."

"Mercy girl had steam coming out of her ears." Pixy informed leaning on the bed with her elbows propping her up.

Both the boys nodded in agreement with her statement. "I've never seen Mercy so angry before."

"She was angry?" Tots was surprised.

"She was yelling at Ra's when they carried you back here." Magnet added. "Said he didn't know how to take care of little kids and she wouldn't have her friend caught up in this nonsense. 'This is all your fault' she said. Man, I thought she was going to kill him, for what he'd done to you."

Tots nodded. That seemed like the sort of thing Mercy would do too. She'd always been protective of Tots. She'd always been responsible and kind that way. "When do you think I'll be able to start training again?"

They all exchanged glances. "Well Tots, I don't know if Mercy wants you to train anymore."

"But I have to." Tots stated. "This air stuff is part of me. I can't just shut it off. I have to learn more."

"Well she still isn't going to let you fly any time soon." Magnet chuckled.

"Why?" Tots demanded, folding his arms across his chest. "She's not my mom."

"Maybe not. But she cares about you." Rico said. "It's not like she's doing it to be mean or anything, she just doesn't want you to get hurt again."

Tots heard the truth in that. Even still, he hated being told what to do. But then again it had always been that way, ever since he joined the gang. Without realizing it, Tots had followed Mercy around like a lost puppy, doing whatever she said. It was easy to accept her as a surrogate big sister after all.

He shrugged but looked up with glee. "So did you see me flying? That was pretty cool huh?"

Everyone fell into immediate animation at the announcement.

"Oh man," Magnet said falling back and throwing his hands out with excitement. "Besides the fact that you totally crashed into the women's bathhouse, it was incredible."

"Totsy was all zoom, zoom through the air."

They all took turns on relaying what they thought about Tots' new ability. Mercy came in that moment bearing a tray of soup, crackers and juice. Their laughter stopped when she set it down on the bedside table. "You've really got to get some nutrients down after that."

Tots nodded.

Then he looked at the tray and he looked at his friends, and lastly he looked at Mercy. "Guys could you leave for a minute. I want to talk to Mercy."

They all exchanged glances but left with Pixy twirling in a ballet move behind the boys. Before leaving though, she winked at him from the doorway, waving a cheery goodbye to him.

Mercy went about fluffing his pillow while he stared at her. She was perfectly aware that he wished to discuss something important to her, yet he continued to delay while she tended to him. Finally he spoke.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Tots tried. He didn't have to explain whom he was talking about, she knew perfectly well. "He's nice."

She sighed leaning against her chair and wearing a weary expression. "I don't trust him, Tots. It was all just too easy. How did he know where to find us? And how did he know Yuki had been there at all? It's just too easy. Look," She said leaning in and putting her hand on his. "I know he's probably very smart. But I don't want you to put all your hopes into this man. I… have a feeling this guy is bad news okay."

"But he knows a lot and he can help me help Yuki."

She saw the look on Tots face and smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. Yuki will be fine. Batman has her now. She's safe, so we don't have to worry too much about her. Lets just concentrate on taking care of ourselves for the moment. Kay?"

Tots played with his fingers uncertainly. Then he nodded. "Kay."

* * *

><p>Lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the huge room in a terrifying glow. Tots sat straight in bed as the windows trembled threateningly. He wanted to be with the others, he missed those nights when he could curl up with his friends for comfort under such torrents. Storms terrified him beyond words and this one was even worse. The gigantic room didn't help either. Shadows loomed in the room, bowing over him and playing games on his young mind. He clutched at the covers in petrified terror. He looked up at the ceiling, watching a giant black claw reach out to grab him.<p>

Lightning lit up the dark as the thunder shook the room like an earthquake. He leapt from his bed, tearing out the doorway without a second thought. He ran the whole long distance to his friends' rooms where he burst through Mercy and Pixy's room. The dark girl sat up in bed when she heard the door suddenly open. She looked terrified for a moment but breathed when her eyes adjusted to see whom it was. She sighed and scooted over to make room for him. Pixy was already curled up at the foot of it. Apparently thunderstorms frightened her too.

He snuggled close to the girl he knew as his big sister, feeling much safer instantly.

"Scary night. Now all we have to do is wait for the boys." She said, trying to sound humorous as more thunder shook the walls.

"They're not going to show up. Their too proud for that."

"I dunno, if my guess is correct they should be coming in… right… about… now."

Lightning flashed and the door opened where two boys burst through instantly.

Mercy smirked at Tots. "Told you so."

Without a word they all squeezed on the bed as best as they could fit. Sometime in the night they pulled the second mattress on the floor and pushed the two together to make more room for one another. When morning came, Ra's searched for Tots in his bedroom. The chamber was empty save fro the messy bed where he slept the night before. He had a feeling where he was already was. His hunch was proven correct when he found the boy huddled together on the floor of the girls' dormitory. The other children were huddled together in a tight mound of limbs, blankets and cushions.

Magnet had half his body falling off the bed and Rico was laying sideways with his legs propped up on Tots' stomach. Tots was lying on his back, snoring like a hog and was wedged between Mercy and Pixy with the smaller girl groping Tots like a teddy bear.

All in all, the scene was… rather amusing. He decided to let them sleep for a bit longer before their lessons began that day.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
>Adoption<p>

Yuki lied in bed, staring at the scrolls of the other bending styles. She studied from the painted figures as she tried to imagine herself performing them in battle. Ollo hung by his back legs just like a normal bat from a perch above Yuki's bed. Now the little animal followed the girl everywhere she went. Yuki used to admire the creatures that inhabited the caves back in the camp but they'd never allowed her to get very close to them. This one seemed to have already been trained. It was comforting to have such a little friend close to her.

She read the scrolls carefully. Tomorrow she would have to start training. She was the avatar. She didn't want to be, but she had to be. She needed to first master waterbending, but she couldn't see how she would ever be able to accomplish that. She didn't have a teacher. Every great master in history became that way through the influence of someone wiser.

She sighed, dropping the earthbending scroll and turning to the firebending one. She unrolled it and studied the colors from the first move. She jumped when the door opened suddenly.

"Yuki, I thought you went to sleep an hour ago." Bruce scolded gently. There was no use for her to deny it. He'd caught her red handed.

She sighed again, feeling guilty for staying up past her bedtime. "I was just looking at the scrolls and thinking is all."

Bruce came over sitting on the edge of her bed. "About what?"

"Well," Yuki began. "I'm the avatar, right?"

He nodded, though she really didn't need his confirmation to know that.

"But I don't know waterbending. I don't have a teacher. How will I master all the elements if I can't even master my own?"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Bruce told her. He reached for the scrolls spread out on her bed and placed them on the bedside table. "But night is not the time to be thinking about these things. You worry about them when you're awake, not when you're trying to rest. Now go to sleep. We can sort everything out in the morning."

"First tell me a story." She said, smiling a little and snuggling under the covers. "Then I'll go to sleep."

Bruce sat back down and thought for a moment. There weren't very many stories he could relate that would be age appropriate for her other than fairy tales, which he'd never really liked even as a kid. He tried to think.

"Alright, here's a good one for you." Bruce said and he was launching into a very familiar tale of one of his greatest failures. "Once there was a good man. He worked hard every day to rid the city of criminals and bring wrong to right to a dark city the good way… the noble way. His name was Harvey Dent.

"When the man was a boy, he suppressed his anger and refused to ever show it. Soon his anger took on a form, creating an entity and a personality of its own. The man was two people in one. Soon his other half, his worse half, became consistent and forced his way into Harvey's life. Then one night, on the night of his elective speech for the DA's office, his life took a turn for the worst. One of his greatest enemies attempted to blackmail him, but the worst half took over at that moment and attempted to kill everyone there. In a moment of desperation, his enemy fled and Harvey pursued. But there was an explosion and the good man was hurt very badly. His life changed forever that day, giving birth to a new master criminal to the dark city. Thus Two-Face was created."

Bruce stopped and looked over. Yuki had fallen asleep very quickly, listening to his words. He wondered if she'd heard the end of his story.

Instinctively he pulled the blankets up on her and patted her head as he turned to leave. He left the door open just slightly, letting in a sliver of light from the hallway.

* * *

><p>The days passed into weeks and soon the weeks turned bluntly into months. Yuki spent her time divided among training, studying, and playing. Ollo proved to be a clever and wonderful companion to be with and the two eventually went everywhere together.<p>

Yuki loved her new life. Everyday she woke bright and early, fresh as a daisy, and went down stairs to help Alfred make breakfast. She liked cooking. It was nice and relaxing. And Alfred enjoyed her company in the kitchen. She listened and learned quickly. In time her food was just as good as his own.

When she wasn't learning how to cook, she played with the toys found in the attic, which used to belong to Bruce when his parents were still alive. They were old (from the modern day dolls and racecars), but living in an environment where materials were limited, Yuki was more than content to spend her days creating her own fantasies with the hand-me-downs.

The first day Yuki went to school, ended up being the last for her as well. The day had started out fairly well, when Alfred dropped her off at the private elementary. Yuki was introduced to the kindergarten teacher, Mr. Wills and was seated next to some nice little girls her age. By recess she was playing and taking part in the activities keenly. But by noon, her disposition took a turn for the worse when a bully began teasing her. He made fun of her two long braids, her handmade white-haired doll, the fact that she was an orphan, and whatever else he could think of that would make her squirm. At last she couldn't take it anymore.

"You'd better stop teasing me, or else you'll be sorry."

The bully laughed. "Oh really what are you going to do, Puky Yuki." He marched up to her before she could respond. In a quick move he tugged painfully on one of her braids causing it to come undone and grabbed Yue, running back to his place and tossing her over and over into the air.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" She yelled viciously. Her shriek was so fierce, it made everyone on the playground stop what they were doing and watch the two of them. She ignored the others but kept her eyes pinned on the bully. She held her hand expectantly out to him. "Give her back to me." She demanded.

"Come and get her, why don't you?"

Yuki stayed rooted to her spot, with her arm outstretched. "Give her to me now!"

The bully held the doll out, signaling for her to come and get it. She walked over to him and before she could grab her doll away, he'd tossed it heartlessly in the mud. Her mouth dropped as she saw her precious doll, so lovingly crafted by her mother, become soiled and dirty in the despicable mud. There was just so much a girl could take before she snapped. Yuki could handle being called names, she could handle having her hair pulled out and undone, she could handle being shoved and pushed out of the way, but the sight of the one thing she had left of her family, ruined and dirty in the mud, brought a rage she hadn't expected.

The bully turned back to her, but when he saw her eyes, the smirk on his face disappeared instantly. Her eyes blazed white and her hand shot out at the boy, trailing a jet of water that launched the little boy hard into the cement wall. The water disappeared and the boy slid to the ground unconscious. The children gaped and looked back at Yuki. When her eyes returned to normal, she stumbled with exhaustion. She looked up at the rest of the children and when she took a step, they screamed and ran for cover.

"Mr. Wills! Mr. Wills!" They screamed, crying and running behind their teacher for protection. "She's going to kill us. Yuki's a witch and she's going to kill us!"

Thus ended Yuki's public academic life. Bruce immediately pulled Yuki out of school and paid the teacher off to remain silent. The children he wouldn't worry too much about. Tales often sprung up from the minds of children. Six and five year olds could be pretty imaginative at times.

The bully was alright once he woke up. The blast from Yuki hadn't been strong enough to do permanent damage but the boy now knew better than to mess with girls ever again.

The catastrophe earned Yuki a scolding about using her powers in public without a mask and ended with the decision to home school her instead.

Yue was thankfully okay, with credit to Alfred who'd worked feverishly to restore the moon doll to her former beauty. Yuki couldn't express her gratitude enough once he was done with the finishing touches. She hugged him and pecked his cheek gratefully before skipping away to feed Ollo an apple.

* * *

><p>Bruce leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples tiredly. The day had gone by far too long in his opinion and he was happy his work was finally over for him. Sometimes he really hated life as billionaire Bruce Wayne and some days he really hated being nighttime vigilante Batman. He got up from his desk and peered through the window of his study where he could see Yuki playing a game in the grass outside. There was a blanket and a tea set spread over the green grass along with several of Bruce's old stuffed animals. But it wasn't the toys that had her attention now. She looked up at the empty air beside her and chatted happily to it as if a real person were conversing with her.<p>

In time, he'd learned to accept her habit of talking to things or creatures that others weren't able to see. She'd told him earlier the names of her many imaginary friends. The glass hindered him of any distinguishable sound, but reading from her lips, it looked to be that she was now engaging in a game of hide and seek with her friend Totoro, Ollie, and No Face.

One day while Tim was playing a video game and Yuki was coloring in a corner he asked more about her friends and why no one else could see them.

She'd answered plainly: "Well they're spirits of course."

"What? You mean like ghosts?" Tim could feel a shiver crawling up his spine at the prospect.

She shook her head bluntly. "No. Ghosts are souls without bodies that haunt an area where they died. Spirits are more like gods or demons that control and live within an animal, object, or area. Sometimes they guard and protect the body which they inhabit, such as a lake, town, or forest."

Since the avatar was also the bridge between the spirit world and the physical world, it went without saying that she would probably end up seeing a lot of things most people wouldn't. These things she referred to as friends, were most likely spirits drawn to her presence. It was just another reason why it would have been best to home school her. Children could be very cruel sometimes, and he suspected there would be more than one bully who would pick on her for talking to invisible creatures.

Bruce heard the door open and the steady shuffle of Alfred's steps. "I've brought your afternoon tea, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred. I'll take it in a minute."

Alfred approached the window and watched the sight that caught Bruce's attention. Yuki had just dodged behind a bush and now watched the tree across from her where someone was undoubtedly counting down.

"You know, sir, have you considered adoption yet? The young lady has been with us for well past four months. Wouldn't you say it's about time?"

"I suppose you're right." Bruce sighed, watching her jump suddenly when her invisible friend caught her off guard. She laughed as she jumped to her feet and ran in a circle, trying to outmaneuver whoever was chasing her. He smiled at the sight. "God, I love that kid."

The old butler smiled wisely. "Then it's time." Alfred stated bluntly.

* * *

><p>Batman walked wearily out of his fighter jet. It had been a long night of patrolling and he was more than ready to call it a night and get some sleep. Robin changed out of his uniform and dragged himself to his room without having the patience to say goodnight to anyone. Once Batman had completed the transformation to Bruce Wayne, he carried himself back up through the secret entrance, ready for a goodnight's rest.<p>

He checked up on Yuki as he was passing her room. The covers were messy from where she'd slept but the little girl was gone. Perhaps she was just in the bathroom. But when he looked over to the private bath, the door was opened and the light was off. This made him worry for a moment, but then he thought maybe she just went to the kitchen to get a late snack. He'd have to have a word about that with her. But as he was nearing the kitchen, he realized the lights were off and there was definitely no one in there.

Worry suddenly began to fill him. Where was Yuki? Could some one have come and taken her in the middle of the night? Could it have been the Azulons? Could they have traced her back here?

Without a second thought, he ran out the door and circled the mansion, looking in the places Yuki liked to play around. He imagined her laying asleep in one of those areas and each time he looked somewhere, the more his fear increased with each disappointment. He was about to give up and check back at the house when his sharp eye caught on something small resting on the steps leading to the back door of the kitchen. He neared it, slowly making out a tiny body laying on the steps. His jog turned into a sprint as he saw it clearer.

It was definitely Yuki, and she was still in her pajamas. Judging from her position, she must've sat there so long she just finally passed out on the steps. But why was she sitting right there at two in the morning in the first place? He ran up and shook her shoulder.

"Yuki? What are you doing out here?"

Her eyes peeled open halfway before closing again as she tried to explain. "Richter got in a bad fight. He's too big to come inside so I sat out here with him."

Bruce remembered her saying something about a Richter once. Yuki had a tendency to go into tangents at times so it was hard to follow when she explained things. Vaguely he remembered her talking about a giant triceratops wolf thing that lived inside the stones of the beach nearby. She said she found him in the garden once, hiding very poorly behind a tree that wasn't big enough to shield him from view. For what reason of course, Bruce could not remember.

Bruce picked her up, carrying her to her room. As he was nearing the door inside, he turned back when he thought he detected a faint growling nearby. He looked, but saw nothing but the grass and sidewalk. He tried to maintain a calm expression as he turned back and went inside. Once inside, he let out a relieve breath he'd been holding.

Yuki was half asleep as she murmured on about her friend, Richter, while he carried her back to her room. "He's really nice, but he's kinda slow too."

"That's nice." Bruce said following along gently.

"I bet he could scare Koh away someday, but he's not very brave and he gets scared real easy."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah. He's afraid of the dark and clowns and slugs and lots of stuff."

He finally made it to her room where he gently replaced her back in bed, tucking the blankets securely around her. As he turned to leave, he caught the last whispering words from Yuki.

"Good night, Daddy…"

* * *

><p>"So that's you're new little girl, is it Bruce?" Veronica smiled to the billionaire bachelor, looking curiously at the little girl who was speaking with Tim across the big room.<p>

"Yeah, that's Yuki."

"So what's the story about her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well don't take this personally, Bruce," which was a sure sign that he would probably take it personally. "But you do tend to take in children with _pasts_. I mean first it was Dick, then Tim, and now her. Don't you think it's probably time for you to be having kids of your own?"

"You know there's nothing wrong with that, and I fully respect the parents who take on that responsibility," he announced, looking his friend strait in the eye. "But you see, you just can't argue with the logic; Why should I bring another child into this world, when I can love one that's already here?"

"Fair enough." Veronica nodded. _Who_ could argue with that logic?

* * *

><p>"So it's true, Shyera?" Wonder Woman asked, looking at Hawk Girl in the eye. "Bruce actually adopted a little girl the other day?"<p>

Shyera smild at the thought. "Yup. Looks like Mr. Cold-Shoulder has a heart after all, aye Diana."

"To be honest, I never expected this from any of us, least of all him."

"Tell me about it. Who would expect the great and lone ranger Batman to actually have someone call him daddy?"

"I think it's sweet for him to do that. He has those boys he took in after all."

"Maybe, but Tim and Dick never refer to Bruce as their father. To be honest I don't think he could ever handle either one of them calling him 'Dad'."

"Why the sudden change, though? Why now?"

"Hmm beats me. He still hasn't told the rest of the team why he did it or anything."

"Do you think it could be because there's something special about her?"

"Who knows? We'll only know when he tells us. I for one sure hope it's soon."

"He won't tell us unless he thinks it's important. What he does in his secret identity is his business, not ours. And he has no intention of telling us such personal information. You know how he is."

"I s'pose your right. But even still, you've got to admit you're a little curious."

"Well of course I am. Everyone is."

"All I've got to say is he better talk soon. I'm about to go crazy with the suspense."

"Patience, Shyera. Patience."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
>Stand of the Brave and Innocent<p>

**Two years later.**

It must've been the five hundredth time she'd watch Bruce and Tim leave without her in the Batmobile. She knew for what purpose they served, and to attempt such a thing almost meant certain death for rookies. But there was a part of her, a loud part, that desperately wished to see their world during the night. She'd already caught a glimpse of what they did on their first encounter, but she wondered what it must've felt like behind the masks every time they conquered over an enemy. She thought they were so brave and noble to take on such responsibility.

She imagined standing with them together on the battlefield, victorious over failed villains. Tim told her that when she got older, she might be aloud to come along, but that was just so far away from now.

She sat down on the stones and watched them disappear behind the rocks. With her barefeet, she sensed Alfred come up behind her. He sighed, catching the sight she did. It was dark out but it was still too early to go to bed yet.

"Miss Yuki," Alfred tried, attempting to cheer her up. "It's still fairly early. Why don't we go and catch a late movie in town, hmm?"

She looked up at him, surprised. "Really?"

He smiled kindly at her. "Of course?"

She beamed, looking hopeful. "Kung Fu Panda 2?"

He shrugged. "Oh, why not?"

* * *

><p>An hour later they stood in a crowded movie theater, purchasing snacks for the show.<p>

All at once there was a high screeching. Thinking it was just part of an action movie, nobody reacted to it. Then something huge burst through the walls and people screamed and rushed away.

A huge machine tank thing had smashed its way through and now appeared to be firing at random victims. Yuki immediately searched for Alfred's hand and grabbed it. She wasn't going to be separated from him this time, she told herself. Even if she had to walk in the middle of mortal peril, she'd keep holding that hand and wouldn't let go.

They ran with the other people as they hurried to find a back door but something cut them off quickly. Booms and shouts from other people.

"Get down!" A man—no not a man—a creature—shouted as he fired warning shots in the air with some sort of laser gun. "Everyone get down now!"

Yuki stared at him. He was red, like a devil, with three sharp tails and armor made from some sort of black and silver stone. Other's flanked him but they were with only one tail, and thus suggesting lesser ranks than he was.

Who were they? What were they?

He issued orders to the others. "Gather the slaves."

With his command his men flocked out to herd the helpless humans into tight circles where they could be captured easily. Alfred and Yuki had been successful in keeping near the wall, separating themselves from the rest. She clung tightly to the butler's hand. She was determined not to be separated from him through criminal violence again.

Alfred's intentions were to slip quietly through the employee's entrance and thereby gaining distance to hopefully call Batman or another caped hero for some help. He was stopped suddenly by a big meaty hand on his arm.

"Where do you think you're going, tiny human?"

Before he could react, Yuki had moved, pouncing up and biting the creature severely on the hand that held Alfred. The beast roared, tossing her away. Yuki felt her heart drop when her hand left Alfred's. She turned her body in the air and landed on the wall with her feet, the way Barbara showed her to do. The monster who'd thrown her, turned back to Alfred to cuff him up. Immediately she sprinted back to him, hopping over a table and landing on his shoulders. She yanked off his helmet and began beating away at his big, thick skull with her fists.

"You leave him alone, ya' big, ugly, monster, jerk!"

Her blows seemed to have been just about as effective as a puppy's barking and only served to annoy the thing more than hurting him. Without an effort, he'd pulled her off his shoulders and dangled her upside-down by her foot. She swung her fists at him angrily, effectively missing her target each time. Alfred grabbed a board on the ground and swung it at the beast, smashing it in two over the monster's chest. It had done just about as much damage as Yuki's meek little punches. The beast grabbed Alfred by the throat and tossed him in a corner where he smashed against the wall. Another soldier grabbed him up and chained his hands behind his back.

Yuki continued to try and land punches on her captor, but each blow was a miss. The blood was rushing to her head and she was starting to get dizzy. She still continued to fight though. Soon enough her attempts began to amuse the monster and he chuckled lightly. "This one would make a good pet for my children."

"Just put it with the others and let's go."

"Grrrr!" She yelled and reached up and bit him again on the hand. He yelped and dropped her to the ground. Before she could scramble away, his fist came out and backhanded her angrily. His blow was so strong, and Yuki was so small that it tossed her all the way across the room where she hit the wall a deafening thud.

Alfred's breath caught in his throat when she didn't move after that.

"You brute!" He yelled, horrified that anyone would do such a thing to a child that small.

The beast stomped over to her and when she didn't move, he attempted to grab her again. It was so unexpected to everyone when her hand snatched up a rock and chucked it at his head. At that moment her earth bending had kicked in ever so slightly to give it a bit more punch than normal. The beast stumbled back with the force of the blow and growled vengefully. Yuki jumped to her feet, yet suddenly wished she hadn't so quickly. She swayed from the impact on her brain but quickly regained herself when the soldier beast turned back towards her.

"Whoa!" She barely had time to dodge as he swung again at her. Without hesitating, Yuki ran as fast as she could. Then she stopped dead and looked back at Alfred who was being escorted away with the others. "Alfred!"

"Yuki, run! Find Batman and the others!"

"No, I don't want to leave you!"

Shots rang the air and pointed at Yuki. She did a little dance to avoid them.

"Yuki, just go!" Alfred shouted as he was dragged away.

"I'll find you!" She promised over her shoulder.

Yuki turned and ran through a door, which led up some stairs.

Why was it that whenever she went into town, she bumped into some wacko trying to kill or sell her?

She scrambled up the stairs with the soldier in hot pursuit. It surprised her that he was able to follow down the narrow hallway despite how bulky he was. She turned and stopped dead in her tracks when she found she was trapped by a dead end. Well it was over now. She was caught.

He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall with one giant hand. She pounded on his fist, trying not to look fearfully into his pupilless red eyes.

"Lemme go!"

He laughed at her weak struggle. "You have fire in you, little one? Maybe you'd serve us better in the ring as a trained warrior than a mere slave."

"Don't touch her!" A foot came out of nowhere suddenly and swiped at the monster's head. Yuki dropped from his grip and landed on all fours.

"Nightwing!" She cried happily.

"Yuki, you're bleeding from your forehead!"

"I am?"

The red soldier struck out at him but missed when Nightwing dodged quickly to the side.

"Where's Batman and Robin?"

"Out saving the world somewhere else." He answered, fighting the monster off at the same time.

"They got Alfred and a bunch of others! I've got to help them."

"No it's too dangerous for you!" He shouted throwing the beast into a wall and punching him repeatedly. "Let us handle it."

"But you're busy!" She complained issuing to the monster that had just thrown him into the opposite wall.

He landed a right hook into its jaw where they heard a fait pop as it was disconnected. "Batman called for backup. So don't worry about it."

"What backup?" She cried throwing her arms out angrily.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion from outside. Yuki ran to a window and peered through.

"Wow!" A woman with dark brown wings soared through the sky bearing a mace that sparked with electricity. "Who is she?"

"I'm surprised Tim didn't tell you before." Nightwing said, smashing the monster unconscious at last. "That's Hawkgirl. She's part of the Justice League."

"The what?"

Nightwing stared at her as if she were growing carrots out of her ears. "Yuki, you've been here for nearly two years now, and Bruce never told you about the Justice League?"

Yuki looked blankly at him. "No never."

He smacked his forehead angrily. "That man! Ugh! Stupid Bruce!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

An explosion rumbled the earth and Nightwing shoved Yuki away as he had to battle once more with another of the red demons. Yuki kept out of the way as best she could, but she was torn between helping her friend and keeping out of danger.

Suddenly another of those monsters came storming through. Nightwing was having enough trouble fighting off one of them. With two he was deeply out numbered. Yuki tried to summon her Avatar powers but nothing would happen. There wasn't even any water nearby to bend. She was useless.

"Come on, Avatar State." She clung at her head, trying to coax herself into the awesome power. "Glow it up already." Nothing happened.

Nightwing positioned himself firmly in between Yuki and the monsters. If it came to, he would die for her. Yuki didn't want him to.

One of the beasts lunged first. Nightwing dodged, hooking his arm under his fist and using his extra to land a punch in his gut. The second one took the chance to strike. Yuki watched as the fight raged on. The third one came round eventually and joined with his comrades in brining the human down. Nightwing was grossly outnumbered now, but he held up. In an uncalculated move, he'd thrown one of them in the corner Yuki was cowering in. His body smashed through the window while his hand grabbed one of her braids, pulling her with him.

Nightwing watched her just as the souls of her shoes disappeared over the edge. "NO!"

Thankfully though Yuki's shoelace caught on the tip of a protruding flagpole and she was saved from death momentarily. She had much to thank her father for teaching her such a strong knot. If only the same could've been said for that poor creature. Yet as she dangled upside-down and looked at the being, which was eagle spread over the pavement, it began to stir. She watched openmouthed as it slowly got up and rubbed his head where he bumped it. Then he looked up and drew a weapon from his back, aiming it at the pole that was the only thing between her and a messy demise.

He flung it and it met its target with a deafening shatter. She shut her eyes as she plunged to earth once more. She just couldn't watch herself die.

But then she stopped.

Huge, strong arms surrounded her and held her gently from danger. Sneaking a glance, she saw the most incredible sight she'd ever seen in her life. A man, wearing a deep blue jumpsuit and a crimson cape, had caught her quickly in midair, saving her from the death that waited below them. Now they were flying, with absolutely nothing holding them up. It was like he had invisible wings.

She also noticed he was without a mask, thus showing his face was noble, with broad chiseled features and dark black hair and eyes. He seemed younger than her adopted father but older than Nightwing. He was also probably the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

Yuki had had only one crush for as long as she could remember. She'd really liked Kuzo of the Fire Nation, you know. He was strong and brave and really cute, but when she'd expressed her feelings by jumping up to kiss and hug him suddenly, he'd retracted by roughly shoving her in a dirty pond. Now Yuki loved him, but that just really made her angry… so she incased his whole body in ice as retribution. Then her family left really quickly after that. She also remembered a whole dismal week of having to scrape fish intestines off the deck as punishment for her revenge.

She doubted this man would ever shove her in a dirty pond, but then again, she also felt much too shy to ever jump up and hug him unexpectedly.

He flew up to the building gracefully and set her on the roof. She tried not to blush when she saw how tall he was; even taller than Batman.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She said snapping out of her trance. "But I think he needs help." She ran to the edge and pointed to the window from where Nightwing was having trouble with the two monsters.

"Stay here." He said before flying off and zooming in the window. She heard crashes and loud yelling. Then one of the monsters exploded from the ceiling, having been thrown so hard from below. He landed in a heap a few yards from Yuki and didn't move.

Nightwing came out through the new hole with the man from before. Wow! They both looked so incredible, but the maskless man certainly stood out as the most impressive to her (no offense Nightwing).

Nightwing saw her eyes on his friend and introduced him. "Yuki, this is Superman."

"No kidding—I mean," her face reddened as she quickly remembered her manners. She bowed suddenly with respect, the way her sister taught her to do when thanking strangers. "It's very nice to meet you. Thank you very much for saving me."

Superman was surprised by the bow, but out of respect he didn't say anything about it. "Uh, you're welcome."

"Yuki is foreign." Nightwing explained. "They do that where they come from. Bruce adopted her a few years ago."

"Yes, I heard about that."

There were more explosions and cries for help from below. Apparently their little talk would have to wait. Yuki's ears perked when she caught a familiar voice.

"They've got Alfred!" She ran to where the shout originated from and caught him, just in time, as he was being led away inside an alien tank with other unfortunate humans. "Lets get them!"

"We'll get them." Nightwing announced bluntly. "You stay here."

"But—,"

"You're not ready for this. You can help us by staying out of trouble."

They both rushed to the innocent victims. Yuki watched from her safe distance as they fought the creatures. It was amazing to see them battle so many foes without bending of any kind. She was in awe as she watched Superman take five of the creatures all at once. It surprised her when lasers began firing from his eyes. He swung his fist and slammed it hard into the monster's stomach, sending him flying into a metal wall and denting it.

"He's so strong." She told herself, admiring the courageous way he fought. "Like an earthbender."

So wrapped up was she in her own fantasies, that she didn't notice the monster sneak up behind her before it was too late. He grabbed her by the shoulders with one hand.

"NO! Let me go!" She felt the water before she saw it. Her arm whipped out to a puddle on the roof, tracing a way and whipping him smartly on the forehead. He let go and held his temple where she'd struck true.

"Why you mangy little—," He started towards her again but she splashed him once more but did far less damage than before. He wiped his face and looked at her. The pathetic attempt made him laugh. "You call that power? All you did was get me wet, little girl."

It was just like when Rico teased her. She felt anger boil inside her by his ridicule.

"All show you what power is." She hissed as she felt her anger transform into energy. Over the months she'd been with the Batclan, she trained hard with Tim, Barbara, and sometimes Bruce to enhance her abilities as a fighter. She studied hard everyday to try and apply her skills with her waterbending, but since no one she knew was a bender of any kind, she couldn't tell if what she was doing was right or not. Even still, Tim had discussed his amazement to her of what she was already capable of.

She whipped her arm forward and the water transformed into a swirling jet, punching him and sending him flying off the roof. Superman and Nightwing had just finished up with the rest of the goons and were now freeing the prisoners. Superman was distracted and didn't see the monster behind him just as he pointed a gun at his head. Yuki did though. She also saw the sputtering fire hydrant a few yards from him. In a quick move, she waved her arms quickly, just as the creature took a shot at Superman. The hydrant's spurt of water changed direction so suddenly, it took even Superman off guard.

"What in the world?" He looked around but saw nothing, no explanation to why the hydrant just decided to start shooting water at enemies all of a sudden.

Nightwing looked up to where Yuki was. He made a gesture with his hands, silently telling her to stop. She didn't understand his reason for this. Why was he refusing her help?

He pointed to his mask and then pointed to her.

Now she understood. She didn't have a mask, that's why he wanted her to stop. If people found out who she was, it would be only a step away from realizing who Batman was as well. Without a mask she couldn't help anyone by using her powers and she couldn't let them find out how strong she was. She was stuck.

She saw Alfred emerge from the tank followed by the others. He limped as a young man was supporting him. Even from where she stood Yuki, could see the blood on his ankle.

"No!" She looked around for stairs and spotted a fire escape. She scaled it quickly, jumping to the ground with the last few steps. "Alfred! Are you okay?"

"Just a battle wound, Miss." He shrugged, slumping to the ground and studying the damage. "Nothing to get excited over."

Yuki whispered urgently into Nightwing's ear. "I can heal him if you want me too."

"You can do that?"

"Waterbenders can. But I don't have a mask. Should I still do it?"

He paused as if thinking something over. "How well can you handle blood?"

"I'm fine with it okay. My mom was a healer and she taught me everything I know. Sometimes we would help tend soldiers after a battle near villages."

Nightwing considered this for a long moment. "There's too many people around. I'll have Superman take you both back to the car and you can do it there. When you get there, change quickly and put on a mask. We might need you later on."

Yuki's face beamed. "You're letting me into the fight?"

"No." He answered bluntly. "You're going to help us by healing as many of our friends as possible."

"But—,"

"You don't need to fight to be useful, Yuki. We already have plenty of people for that. You're job might be the most important out of anyone else's because you'll be the only one doing it. We _need_ you for this."

Yuki didn't know what to feel at first. For a moment she felt disappointed, hurt even that he didn't believe in her abilities as a fighter. Then she listened to his words and felt a sort of lightness. She wouldn't be aloud to fight, but her task was bigger than that. They _needed_ her for this.

At last, Yuki nodded. She was determined to make this work.

Superman grabbed them both up, holding the butler under an arm and letting the little girl wrap her arms around his shoulders.

"Keep them safe!" Nightwing shouted as they flew off. The flying man turned back, giving the younger man a thumbs-up to show he understood.

Yuki couldn't believe how smooth he was able to travel through the air. He was as agile as an airbender and she could tell he wasn't even trying.

They made it to the empty parking garage where the car was waiting and Yuki took no time in healing Alfred as fast as she could. It took roughly two minutes for the wound to stop bleeding and one more for it to at least grow a thin layer of flesh. It surprised her by how quick that had taken. She glanced into the sky and understood at once with the sight of the full moon.

Superman was shocked and in awe by this amazing ability.

"You're able to heal people?"

"Yeah. I'm a waterbender." She told him, as if it would explain everything. Superman turned to the butler for more explanation, but also to give Yuki privacy as she changed in the back seat, into something more durable than her purple dress, striped leggings, and white cardigan.

"From what master Batman has discovered," Alfred discussed, as he tested his ankle out tenderly, "Waterbenders have the ability to heal wounds by redirecting energy paths (or _chi_) throughout the body, using their element as a catalyst."

Superman looked blankly at the man for a moment. "I guess I'll have to wait for Batman to explain more later on."

"Okay ready." Yuki ran out, dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers, and a red jacket. She'd undone her brains into one ponytail and had even dared to borrow an extra mask from Tim as another precaution. She looked incredibly different now although the clothes weren't exactly what one would call superhero style.

Superman shrugged. "I guess it will have to do."

"Yuki." Alfred said before Superman had picked her off the ground. "Make sure you don't tell anyone you're real name. Come up with something before you introduce yourself. This is of the utmost importance. Understand?"

"I understand." She nodded as the hero picked her up.

"Keep your mask on at all times."

"I will!" She called back as they lifted into the air.

"And stay with Superman." The butler shouted again.

"I'll be fine."

"I'll protect her with my life." The man said as they soared away.

Guilt spread inside Alfred as he watched them disappear. Had he unintentionally brought an end to Yuki's childhood spirit? How much of her would change after today? Would the little girl, who'd he'd grown so very found of, disappear the way young Bruce had disappeared after watching his parents die. What sort of unintentional danger had he placed her in by allowing her to go? And more important still; What would Master Bruce do when he found out what he'd done?

* * *

><p>"How bout Healer Girl?" Yuki suggested as they soured passed tall buildings. Coming up with a super cool name for her was proving to be difficult. She'd talked about it a bit with Superman but nether one of them really knew what she could go as.<p>

"Why don't we call you just simply Healer?"

"But there's already so many healers right now." She remarked dismally.

"I suppose." He said after a thought. "But you know I have a friend who is one of many green lantern agents and do you know what we call him?"

"Green Lantern?"

"Exactly. Plus, this might come as a surprise to you, but you're the first healer I've ever met."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot around here." Yuki shrugged. It was the best they were going to get today. "Alrighty, Healer it is."

Shouts rang the air and something shot towards them. It took Yuki's breath away by how fast Superman dodged the oncoming missile. More aliens fired but Superman was like a flash of lightning as he dodged quickly here and there. Then a cry of pain echoed through the night and they were both drawn away from the foes.

A man in a red jumpsuit with gold bolts of lightning decorating his costume, crouched on the ground. He held his knee close to him as he hissed in pain. The two saw the creatures close in on the man, preparing to finish him off with blasts of their guns.

"Flash!"

Yuki was dropped to the ground as Superman took care of the threats. Without a moment to loose, she tended to the fallen hero.

"What the— Since when did we start letting little kids join our group. And who are you?" The man said when he saw the little girl.

"I'm Healer. Now hold still." Silvery blue light surrounded his knee. "Where does your pain feel most intense?"

"Argh—a bit lower."

"How's that?"

"Better—whoa! Way better." His pants were ripped but at least his leg had healed. He bent it cautiously, mindful of the pain it was in before. When nothing caused him discomfort, he stood to his feet. "Pretty nifty talent, kid."

"Thanks."

"Uh, Flash, I could use a little help over here." Superman said, as he was busy trying to escape a headlock and attempting to punch another monster at the same time.

"Thanks for the help kid." And faster than Yuki could blink, the man was gone. Like a streak of red from her vision, she watched as he ran and dodged the creatures with ease enough to make anyone sick. He made Superman look slower than a turtle sea lion.

Remembering what she was here for, she picked herself off the ground and shouted to Superman. "We need to find other people who are injured so I can heal them."

"I saw Hawk Girl go down after you left." Flash said as he beat away a foe. "GL was with her but he was busy with other evil aliens and couldn't help her."

"Do you have things covered here?" Superman asked, wary to leave him without help.

"Yeah, no problem. Just take care of the others."

Superman plucked her up quickly and just like that, they flew off to find Hawk Girl.

* * *

><p>Batman leapt just as the explosion went off. He felt the heat of flames burning on his costume. His cape might've been fireproof, but the explosion was so severe he felt it even under his armor. His arm whipped out, trying to catch the building as he fell. His fingers brushed against stone but no more. He plummeted into the fire. Before he could burn alive though, a slender hand caught him under the arms. He looked up and breathed easy when he saw Dianna carry him safely away.<p>

"Well did you get it?"

"I placed the virus within their main computer." He told her. "When they call for aid from the mother ship the virus will piggyback onto the transmission, jamming their computers and any control they have over their ships."

"And then we'll be able to take care of the rest."

He glared at the explosion, feeling satisfaction at the molten foreign metal. "That's the idea."

Yuki rushed here and there, healing as many fallen friends and allies as she could. She thanked the spirits for the support of the full moon. Without that lunar affinity, she wouldn't have been able to heal so well. Soon she became so used to the rhythm and feel of healing so that it was as if she merely had to spend a touch on the soldiers before they were back in the fight again. It was only the minor injuries that she helped with. If she spent too much time on a serious casualty, it would take her longer to heal than it would a broken finger. She allowed the medics and numerous doctors around her to take care of major injuries so more people could return to the battle.

More than once, she found herself on the battlefield, answering the cries of incapacitated partners while being securely covered by Superman. It only took a moment, but to many, it wasn't fast enough. Yuki knew she couldn't run the chance of rushing it. If she did, the wound wouldn't heal correctly, and the person would be back in the medic in a matter of moments.

She couldn't save all of them though. Some wounds were so great, it was far too late by the time they reached them. She tried reassuring them that everything was going to be okay, yet even to her, those words were a lie. At last, she broke down under the pressure when a female police officer died under her fading hands.

"Yuki we've got to get going if… we… want to…" Superman trailed off when he turned and saw her hunched over the still body, sobbing for the life she was unable to save. At that moment he realized she was a little girl. So mature and so adult she'd been since they entered the fighting, that it'd completely slipped his mind that she was only eight years old. Not once had she even asked to stop and rest. Going from one injury to the next had probably worn her down so much. Guilt filled him by how far he'd pushed her. He should've known better.

In a quick move he'd plucked her up and soared to safety on top of a far building away from the battle. He set her down on a metal box while she tried to calm down.

"Why'd we go over here?" She asked through sobs. She hiccupped. "I'm—a-a-alright. R-really. I can go back."

Superman gave her an understanding smile. "We're just taking a break. We'll be back in a minute."

Yuki choked and nodded, crying even harder. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She wiped her eyes repeatedly only to have more and more tears build up at the corners. "I couldn't save her! I tried to save her, but I couldn't."

Superman gave her a sympathetic look. Without a word, he came over and sat next to her, patting her back gently while she slowly began to calm down. When she could breath regularly again, she sniffed.

"Thanks."

"Are you alright?"

She shrugged and wiped the last of her tears away. "I guess."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"Not really." She murmured, but she ended up talking about it anyways. "I know I can't save everyone, but I still try to anyways. And when I fail, I get so… angry at myself for not trying harder."

"You'll never be able to save everyone," Superman tried to console, "but it's good that you try to anyways. That's what it means to be a hero." He sighed looking at her beaten face. She'd need some food later on with the amount of energy she'd probably exercised up. He smiled, remembering how calm and collected she reacted to so many wounded people. He envied such courage in a young person like her. "You are very brave." He said at last.

She looked up at him, surprised. "I am?"

"Yes, you are."

"I thought I was just being a big baby." She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

He shook his head. "There's no shame in crying for a lost life. Most people I know don't dare let their emotions show through, but that's nothing to feel embarrassed over. Don't let that part of yourself ever die."

Her reaction was just what he'd aimed for. She smiled big and pure at his announcement that it was as if the fighting had stopped momentarily.

"Thanks." She felt so elated by his compliment; she could even feel new energy flow into her with his words. They waited a few minutes till Yuki was calmed down enough to go back, but by then they didn't need to.

The rest of the Justice League was pushing the last of the tanks and aliens back. A few meters off, an airship exploded and another followed by cheers from numerous humans on the ground.

"They're falling." Superman cried. "Batman must've done it."

"Batman? You mean my daddy? He did that?"

Superman chuckled slightly. He would never have imagined anyone ever calling grim Mr. Batman 'daddy.' "Your new father is very intelligent. He built our Watchtower. He was working with Wonder Woman in a plot to slip a virus into the invader's computer system, causing it to crash all their weapons."

Yuki didn't know too much about computers or guns or engines like that, but she nodded as if understanding anyways.

"We should go back and help." Yuki announced. Nodding Superman picked her up and carried her back to the ground where more people were in need of healing. With the added rest she was at least able to save more lives. Soon enough the injuries became scarce and the invaders were evacuating the planet. Yuki breathed with relief when she saw them flying swiftly away.

She'd just finished with the last of her patients by the time she finally was able to rest. She'd wandered a bit where Superman was talking with a black man in a green and black jumpsuit like Flash's.

"The last patient just went to the hospital." Yuki announced, running up to him. "They said they didn't need me anymore."

"Good job." He addressed the man he was speaking to and took the liberty to introduce them to one another. "Green Lantern this is Yuki. She's a healer and responsible for the good medical help today."

"Really?" He turned holding his hand out for a shake. "Great job kid. We need more of those around."

She shook his hand smiling. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you."

The man smiled too but frowned when he noticed her youth. "Say kid, how old are you?"

"Eight and a half." She answered proudly.

His mouth dropped. "You're only eight?"

"It was hard for me to believe it at first too." Superman chuckled.

Yuki turned back to Lantern, curious about this new caped hero. "So what's your pow—,"

Suddenly they were all taken off guard as something huge blundered through the field. Earth and fire rained down everywhere. Yuki screamed and someone tackled her to the ground, shielding her with his body as debris and flames surrounded them. Yuki's eyes were tightly shut as she felt the arms of Superman protecting her with his life. She wondered how he wasn't feeling any pain from the blast. He truly was something incredible.

A roar filled the night as a renegade invader began firing at random targets. "I will not be conquered by the likes of you skinny, hairless monkeys. If anyone dares to fight me, come and meet your greatest enemy."

"Oh great," Lantern muttered beside them. "A preacher with a gun."

"Do you need help?"

"Nah, I got this one." Lantern said, politely dismissing Superman's offer. "Besides, someone needs to take care of Batman's kid or he'll skin us alive if anything happens to her."

"Too late for that." Yuki stated drolly.

She watched with Superman as Lantern took care of the beast on his own. Her mouth dropped when she saw him animate green light from a ring on his finger, into a giant laser, a cannon, a punching glove and a shield. In only a matter of minutes the beast had been taken care of promptly.

"Wow. It's like he's a light bender." Yuki said happily.

"Yuki?"

The little girl turned at the sound of her name, spotting Batman being set on the ground by a flying woman in a bathing suit with stars.

"Hi!" Yuki waved to him but stopped and lowered her arm when she saw the disapproving look on his face.

"What are you doing here? What is she doing here, Superman?"

Superman looked suddenly guarded, standing up boldly to his full height. "She offered to help, Batman."

"You put her in danger?" His entire face was teaming with outrage. "You let her go on the battlefield—through that war zone?"

"I protected her with my life." The other man said, keeping his cool. "There were people dying, Batman. If it wasn't for her abilities as a healer, they would've been dead."

"So you got it in your head to let an _eight year old_ act as a medic while you led her through that hell. What is wrong with you? Why was she in the city to begin with?"

"Alfred and I were going to see a movie." She explained, cutting in on their conversation. Maybe she could act as peacemaker. "We were at the theater and a big tank burst through the wall and—,"

"_Yuki_," His voice was strained and sounded forced to remain calm. "_Stay_ out of this."

Her mouth closed at once. Her stomach dropped when she heard his tone. He'd never spoken that way to her before. It was scary to hear how soft and furious it could sound at the same time.

He turned back to Superman. If he had been born a bender, fire would've been spouting out of his back in his fury. "Don't ever go near my kid again, got it?"

Superman looked unemotional as he nodded once. "I understand."

"Good!" Batman turned to Yuki. "Where's Alfred? I want him to take you home now."

"No, I want to go home with you… please." She added quickly when she saw his face.

Reaching in his belt, he withdrew a remote and clicked it. The batmobile drove up moments later and Yuki climbed in the passenger seat with her father taking the driver's.

Robin watched them go beside Superman, wondering if Yuki would be able to calm him down. It was as he saw the back of the vehicle that he suddenly realized the Batmobile came with only two seats.

"Now how the heck do I get back?"

* * *

><p>Yuki watched Batman's face glare pensively at the road ahead. He didn't once look or acknowledge her. The tension in the small space felt thick enough to touch. When the little girl spoke at last, she did so with all the caution she had.<p>

"Dad, am I in trouble?"

"I'm not sure." He said tightening his grip on the steering weal. "What in the world were you thinking, exactly?"

"I thought I would be able to help people. That's what I was thinking."

"By risking your life?"

"I don't see why _you_ would disapprove of that. You do it every night."

"That's different, Yuki. You're eight years old." _The same age I was when I watched my parents die right in front of me._

"So that makes my life more valuable than yours?"

"Yes, it is." He stated bluntly.

How could he be so unfair!

"Not to me!" She all but shouted. "Why do you think I'm so worried every time you and Tim go away and leave me behind. I know why you're angry and worried." She said, a little more calmly. "I'm just a little girl. I get it. But the reason I agreed to go with Superman was because there were people hurt and I could save them—I _had_ to save them." She said, quoting his own words after she'd asked him why he dressed up as Batman every night and fought crime. "And I was only trying to be like you… 'cause I think your brave and noble. You're my role model." The last part she murmured nearly too soft for him to hear.

There was a long note of silence while her statement filled the space between them. Her statement weighed so heavy.

"You're too young to be saving people, Yuki." He told her softly.

"I can't help it. I'm the avatar."

He glanced over to see her leaning up against the window, looking out the glass and deliberately avoiding eye contact with him. She looked years older—weary almost in way. He couldn't believe how grown up she'd spoken to him. Her words made him regret his reaction. It wasn't easy for him to admit it, but she was right. Eight years old, and she was completely right. But despite that, he could never accept that she would one day follow in his footsteps. It nearly killed him to think he was just brining her down with him. She was so young.

_I was that age when my life changed forever._

He looked back over and her eyes were closed. She was asleep. The healing she'd done must've used up all the strength she had, not to mention it was well past four in the morning by now. He would have to wait to speak with her again tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Alfred paced the Batcave waiting for his master's car to pull up. The news had said that the invaders were pulling back now, thanks to a virus Batman was successfully able to place within their systems. The news of Yuki had traveled quickly. A familiar reporter was on the scene as the little girl hurried here and there to heal victims of the invasion.<p>

"We're broadcasting live from Gotham Main Street as what appears to be the newest, and youngest addition, ever to be admitted to the Justice League hurries here and there to aid victims of the alien invasion. Word out, it seems that this young heroine has the ability to heal injuries with water as soldiers and officers are quickly rushed to the medic to await treatment for numerous wounds. We have yet to hear from any other members of what alias this little girl is being called at this minute. Back to you Bert."

"Thank you, Summer," the Reporter babbled on about updates on the invasion as numerous heroes worked frantically around the globe to rid their planet of the threat.

Alfred looked up when he heard the familiar vroom of the Batmobile. Batman jumped out carrying Yuki, unconscious, up the stairs.

"Oh dear. Master Bruce, she's not—,"

"She's fine, Alfred." Batman snapped quickly. "She's just worn out."

Alfred breathed with relief as Batman pushed past him frankly. He knew why he was angry, and the butler couldn't blame him. He also knew that until Yuki was in bed, Bruce wouldn't discuss this matter with Alfred. He'd been preparing on what he would say to him all night.

Five minutes passed before Bruce finally emerged from Yuki's room, closing the door softly behind him. He took one look at the butler and turned on his heel back to the cave to change out of his costume.

Alfred couldn't take the suspense but he still thought it best for Bruce to speak first.

At last he did.

"You let her go in that hell."

"Yes, sir. I did."

"…Without thinking of the consequences?"

"What convinced me to let her go was that she was more worried about saving innocent lives than she was of seeking thrills, Master Wayne. The same reason you go out every night."

"That's not the point. I trust you with my life Alfred, but more importantly, I trust you with my children's lives."

"I'm well aware of that. But you have to understand, sir, they take after you."

* * *

><p>The five children all gathered together watching the news channel as the anchorman announced the invaders were falling back. The children leaped when the picture turned to a little girl wearing a mask and running here and there, healing wounded soldiers.<p>

"It's Yuki!" Tots cried.

"How can you tell?" Mercy asked uncertainly. "I mean she's wearing a mask."

"I know it's her. Trust me."

"I don't remember Yuki have healing powers." Magnet said, remembering back to the little she mentioned about bending. "She could only bend water when we met her."

"It is her." They all turned to see Ra's behind them staring intently at the news channel. "Sometimes waterbenders are blessed with the ability to heal injured people by using their element as a catalyst."

Rico blinked with surprise. "So she can heal people with a single touch?"

"That girl never ceases to amaze me."

"Speaking of bending," Ra's said, looking directly at Tots, " have you finished the airbending stances I've assigned?"

Tots looked guilty. "Well… with the invasion of Earth and all I thought…"

"All the more reason you need to practice even harder." He flipped the TV off and turned back to the door. "Resume your studies."

Tots groaned as he began the exercise the sets Ra's had taught that day. He groaned as he flipped on his hands and began doing crunches upside-down using his bending to keep him suspended, without tipping over. "No one else has homework."

"Wanna bet?" Magnet muttered falling back on the floor. "Ubu's got me and Rico working like horses. Twenty sets of pushups every time someone says—,"

"Don't say it we'll havta—,"

"Minute, minute, nuttin in it." Pixy sang out.

"Danget!" Both Rico and Magnet cried together at the mention of 'minute'. "That's forty each now. Thanks a lot, Pixy." The blond girl giggled, using her pixy program to guide her through forbidden sights. Grudgingly they both lowered to the ground and began their homework.

"Why don't you just lie and say you did them?" Mercy suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Rico said counting off silently. "Ubu can like, read our minds or something. The last time we tried to flake out on work, he had us do three miles, two hundred pushups, two sparing matches _against him_, and seventeen drills _before_ lunch."

"I've never been in more hurt before." Magnet said as he reached his final pushup.

"What about you, Mercy? How's life in the kitchen and hospital wing for you?"

"Boring," She said bluntly, "but compared to what you guys suffer, it's like a vacation, although today we actually had someone with a broken toe."

"Oh sure… rub it in." Rico muttered lying on the ground exhausted.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. At least you're learning good stuff."

"I guess. But sometimes I wish we could just take it easy, just for like one day."

"Well it should be coming up for me pretty soon." Tots said stepping through the lesson he'd been taught that morning. "Ra's says that since now I've mastered my glider enough to fly with my eyes closed and I've got the first ten levels of airbending down, I'm going on a mission with him soon."

"Wow a mission? Sounds neat."

"Where do you think you'll go?"

"Probably somewhere like the Amazon," Tots suggested. "He's been focusing a lot on rainforests and deterioration lately."

"Maybe you'll have to like, recover some sort of secret magical artifact from some sort of Aztec temple. And it'll grant you unbelievable powers of doom and destruction." Rico mussed.

"No, no he'll be going to help a village whose being tormented by some sort of evil monkey god of war."

"Just how many comic books have you read?" Mercy asked the two boys.

"Might I just add that we don't receive outside mail here. It's all just what we here off the news now."

Mercy's brow rose. "Evil monkey gods of war? Come on."

"Superman had an incident in Africa. I thought everyone knew that?"

"Nope you're all wrong!" Pixy announced falling her head back and staring at them upside down through her big blue goggles. "Tater Tots we'll be accompanying Ghul Man to… England!"

"England?" They all looked at one another. "What for?"

"Business transaction. Totsy must now learn about—economy!"

"Economy? You mean like stocks and bonds and stuff like that?"

"Yup!"

"Awe man. Talk about boring!" Tots moaned, dropping to the ground with disappointment. "I'd rather stay here and do more drills."

"Economy is the essence of society." Pixy quoted cheerfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Give it a try." Pixy suggested without explaining what she meant. "Can't be too bad."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
>Family from Far Away<p>

Soon after the invasion battle, Yuki began seeing more of Batman's world along with the rest of the Justice League. She was even invited to the legendary Watchtower where she was introduced to the rest of the original team. She favored Wonder Woman and Flash most of all, and though she secretly admired him from afar, she'd never admit to herself that she had a giant crush on Superman.

Yuki was often an energetic and talkative little girl, yet in his presence, she was speechless.

Soon enough Yuki's birthday rolled around. She would be nine and Bruce had plans for the day.

"Well, Kido," He said, the day before her party. "Guess what tomorrow is?"

"Saturday?" She answered innocently, trying to hide the knowing smile creeping on her face.

"Come on, as if you would forget what tomorrow is."

She smirked at him. "I know. I just wanted to make you smile."

"Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

"Well…" She played with her fingers bashfully. "I'm not sure you'd want to go there."

He smiled. "Anywhere you want." He insisted, expecting but also fearing she would want to go to some crazy pizza place with video games and novelty characters in big sweaty costumes.

Yuki looked guarded for a moment, smiling innocently. "The Iceberg Lounge?"

"You want to go _there_?" This definitely wasn't what he'd expected. That ex-criminal Penguin held one of Gotham's most prestigious restaurants and he certainly didn't approve of children or roughhousing of any sort. Not exactly the sort of place he would expect a nine-year-old little girl to choose.

"It reminds me of home." Yuki explained when she saw his confused frown.

"Oh… well…"

"Is that alright?" She asked uncertainly. "I know you've got a past with the owner, but I really like that place. And it's been so long since I've been there last. I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember the trouble I caused a few years back."

"Well… I don't know."

"Well if that place is too stuffy for you, Chucky Cheese's was going to be my next choice."

"Of course Penguin's is all right. It's no problem at all."

* * *

><p>"Are we really eating at this waddling jerk's place?" Tim mumbled while they stood in line to enter the refined restaurant.<p>

"Quiet. It's Yuki's birthday and she gets to choose where we eat." Bruce replied under his breath.

Yuki didn't hear either of them. She was more preoccupied with the giant poster on the side of the fine diner. "Hey look, he's sponsoring a water show today. That'll be kinda cool." She turned back and read what was under the pretty blue pictures of levitating water. "Exclusive water ballet brought to you for one night only. Preformed by the water magician Alistair Chong also known as the Spirit of the Antarctic." Yuki stepped back but there was no picture of the magician on there, only a dark shadow as he bent the waves to his will.

"Could he be…"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up, Yuki." Tim said, reading her thoughts on her face. "It's probably done with sprinklers and water systems like the ones in Las Vegas."

"Yeah I guess you're right." She sighed, realizing the reality in his words. The possibility that it could ever be another waterbender was slim to none.

The guard waved them in at once and they were escorted to a table close to the lake. Yuki stared out at the leopard seals, wondering if they remembered her. She was more than certain the owner wouldn't be able to recall her from three years ago. He'd barely even noticed her from the rest of the children with her at that time.

"Ah Bruce Wayne I see." Penguin called, spotting the billionaire instantly, and coming to greet him warmly. Bruce stood and shook the short man's hand, composing a cool attitude as he did so. Despite his polite disposition, Yuki and Tim could both tell he was less than happy to see him. The owner smiled at him, unaware of the true feelings lingering under the surface. "So nice to see you here with your… ahem… _children_." He pronounced the word as if speaking about a pair of insects.

His tone received him a glare from Tim. Yuki however didn't hear or see the owner. At the moment she was too preoccupied with the amazing animals in the lake.

"Please don't touch the leopard seals, child. With insurance these days we can't afford anyone loosing a hand." The man waved his hands nervously. She turned at his statement and he stopped to look at her. "Do I… know you?"

Yuki felt her stomach tighten. He couldn't possibly recognize her from so long ago. He hadn't even seen her but for a moment. Yuki shook her head quickly, trying to remain cool. "I don't think so, sir. This is the first time I've met you."

"No… I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before. Perhaps a magazine or a tabloid?"

"Yeah, probably." Yuki said quickly. "What are their names?" She tried luring him to a different subject.

"What are whose names?"

"The leopard seals of course."

"Oh well…" All at once the lights dimmed and an eerie music filled the entire room. Oswald turned on his heal. "The show is about to start. I hope you all enjoy it."

They took their seats as rhythmic battle drums added to the melody and a young man popped up strait from the iceberg using a technique Yuki recognized as ice tunneling. She wasn't certain at first, but when he waved his arms up and water rose from a lake in an elegant spiral shape, Yuki's doubts disappeared instantly. The entire restaurant gasped in unison at the sight of such a marvel.

"He _is_ a waterbender!" Yuki breathed in amazement. "I knew it."

They watched, mesmerized with the rest of the crowd as the water was twirled and shifted into various shapes and cosmic forms. The lights and music only served to add to the atmosphere. Yuki had never been more spellbound by such graceful movement. His dance was like something out of a dream. Yuki was suddenly overcome with a deep sense of home at the sight of such graceful actions. He must've performed for them for little over an hour by the time he ended it, closing off with a soft explosion of snow and a forceful jump, landing on his knees as if bowing to the crowd.

The audience exploded in cheers for such a magnificent show. Yuki stood with the rest of them, clapping her amazement. The waterbender took a deep bow and disappeared beneath the ice before anyone could blink.

Yuki tugged on Bruce's sleeve. "We have to talk to him!"

Bruce hesitated, leaning down and whispering in her ear. "Not here. Not like this. There are too many people around. We'll wait till after hours, then we'll speak with him."

She knew what he meant and nodded. So they would wait. Before they left though, Yuki quickly needed to use the bathroom. The hall was completely empty as she came out.

"Yuna?"

Yuki's head swerved around upon the mentioning of her beloved older sister.

She spotted the waterbender walking towards her, a disbelieving look etched on his face at the sight of her. Now that he was closer, Yuki could see him much easier than when he was performing. He was young, possibly in his early twenties. His hair was a dark chocolate brown like hers and his eyes were a lighter shade of blue. He wore common Water Tribe tunic and trousers along with long blue sleeves and arm bands worn on warriors. He was cleanly shaven and had his hair partly up in a stubby warrior's wolf tail with two strands of hair dangling down and threaded through opaque glass beads. All in all, he was very attractive, despite the numerous scars marring his hansom face. One long cut slashed over his left eye, like the claws of a wild animal.

His face seemed to understand when he realized she was far too young to be her older sister. "Wait… are you… Yuki?"

Yuki felt her heart skip a beat. "How do you know who I am?"

"Great spirits you look just like Yuna at that age." He came closer to her, awed by her resemblance in her big sister.

"How do you know Yuna? Were you friends with her?"

He smiled kindly. "I don't expect you would remember me. You were only three when I left home, after all."

"Left home? What are you talking about?"

The man smiled in such a familiar way, she was sure she'd seen it somewhere before. "Yuki, my name is Yu. I'm your brother."

* * *

><p>Bruce leaned in his chair, his hands propping his weary head up as he tried to calm himself down. But no matter how long and still he sat; he couldn't quiet the torrents of emotions raging inside him.<p>

He hadn't believed the words from the young man. Or in all honesty, he hadn't wanted to believe his words. After he'd spoken with that waterbender, Yu, he'd been successful enough in collecting a strand of hair from him. After that, he'd rushed home at once to perform a DNA test. The results had brought forth his worst fears.

The man wasn't lying. Desperately, Bruce ran the tests again, wishing beyond hope that it had been a mistake. The result was the same.

His legs gave out and he fell into his chair holding his scalp in his hands.

He recalled the words spoken within that man's dressing room.

"Yuna mentioned something about a Yu before," Yuki remembered. "She also said something about a brother. But I didn't know she meant a real brother. The tribe refers to all its people as sisters and brothers."

The man embraced Yuki like a real brother. "You can't understand how relieved I am to see that you're alive and well. I was so afraid that the Azulons had captured you at last."

Yuki flinched at the mention of their name. She stared at him; blue eyes looking into blue eyes. "You know, you look like him." She said at last. "You look just like our father."

Something inside Bruce ached incredibly by that comment. He hardly noticed Yu speaking to him.

"Thank you so much for taking care of her all these years." The man bowed in respect. "I am in debt to you." He turned back to his sister. "Yuki, I know what you are. You come from the water tribe and as your brother, it is my duty to train you in the ways of our heritage. How would you like to come live with me as a family again?"

Bruce and Tim froze suddenly and Yuki's eyes got big by that statement. No one had been expecting _that_. She didn't say anything for a long moment. "I—I would—,"

Before she could respond, Bruce felt he had to step in. "Tim, Yuki, could you wait in the car for a moment? I think I ought to speak with Yu for a moment." They hesitated but obeyed when they saw the pleasant smile on his face. They didn't sense any threat to come. As soon as he was sure they were gone, Bruce turned back to the young man, a clear frown upon his face.

"Look, sir." He began coldly. "I don't know who you are or if what you're saying is even the truth. If you _really_ know what Yuki is, then you must understand my suspicions. When Yuki was six, I adopted her and raised her as my own. And now an older brother _conveniently_ appears out of nowhere right when she's in need of a teacher; it just strikes me as very coincidental. You may be a very powerful bender, but I don't intend to hand her over to you just because you _say_ you're her brother."

"Of course not." The man responded with a stern look to match Bruce's. "And I would've been very angry had you not discussed your suspicions about me first. With someone as precious as her, I would expect nothing less. You really do care about her don't you?"

Bruce walked up to glare in his face. While he kept Yu's eyes on his face, his hand carefully pocketed a comb with a few strands of hair on the edge of it. "If you really are her brother, you'll have no problem with answering a few questions." he dug in his coat pocket and handed him a business card with his adress on it. "Come to this adress at 6:00 on tuesday. Got it?"

"Certainly."

And now here he was; bending over his desk in painful defeat. Yu was her brother, and if demanded, Bruce knew he would have to give Yuki up to him.

* * *

><p>"I just can't believe it, guys." Yuki sat with a bunch of her spirit friends and Ollo on the beach as the quarter moon waning rose above the water. Silently she handed Ollo a cookie and he nibbled it appreciably. "I have a brother that I never even knew about, and now he wants me to come live with him. But the truth is, I don't know if I can."<p>

Totoro looked at her. Silently asking a question with his big wide eyes.

"Well… I'm elated and so thankful that someone from my blood family is here with me, but at the same time… I dunno. I don't think I can leave my new family. Hawk Girl, Dianna, Flash, Superman and the others; they've all been such a big part of me lately. And then I'd have to leave Tim and Barbara and Alfred and Dad…" She trailed off, hugging her knees. "I just don't think I can do it."

No Face sat next to her, watching the moon with the curious, empty smile he always held. He poked her mutely and pointed to the moon. She looked up.

"No, I don't think the moon can help me this time, No Face."

He pointed to the moon more insistently; speaking in words the others had to guess on.

"Well… I'm not so sure about that. I suppose I could ask…" She took a moment to think. "I'm gunna wait till tomorrow to ask though. After Yu answers some questions. I think we need to know his side of the story first."

* * *

><p>They sat in the living room, all eyes on Yu as they waited for Yuki to come back from the bathroom. Only Tim and Bruce were present. Barbara and Dick were both busy with other things that day. It was quite clear to everyone that Yu was on the spot. Like an interrogation of a criminal.<p>

He would've liked to have made small talk with them to lighten the atmosphere, but somehow that seemed more dangerous than helpful.

When he was out of his costume, he was incredibly rugged with ripped faded blue jeans, leather boots, a denim jacket and a long sleeved brown shirt. The casual clothing only served to strengthen his attractiveness rather than diminish it. He'd arrived earlier on motorcycle. Now they were all just waiting for Yuki. She emerged from the stairs with Ollo clinging to her shoulder.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting." She said, sitting beside Bruce and looking at Yu intently.

"So… what do you want to know?" Yu sat on the edge of his seat as he prepared for questions.

"How come you left us?" Yuki said quickly. "How _could_ you leave us?"

"When I was fifteen," he began, entering in a memory he had long tried to forget. "I had an argument with our parents. You must remember how they traveled around so much. Well I was growing tired of it. For a young man, that was a hard life being nomadic and not staying too long in one place. I felt I was ready to find a job and carry out my life grounded to a place and a home. But our father didn't understand. "We are people of the sea," he said, "we belong on the sea." I got angry and left that very day. You must remember that Yuna wasn't around anymore. Being five years my senior, she had already married to a man in the Fire Nation."

"She was married?" That stunned Yuki, but more so that she was bound to a Fire Nation citizen. "I never knew that."

"I'm surprised she never told you, but then again, he died shortly after their wedding. The pain of his death probably hurt her too terribly to speak of it."

"How did he die?" Tim found himself asking.

"He was murdered…"

"…By the Azulons." Bruce finished for him.

"Yes."

"Who are the Azulons?" Tim said. "And why are you so freaked by them."

"The Azulons are a group of traitors who are named after their leader, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

"Who's she?" Tim asked shivering inexplicable by the mention of the name.

Yu eyes were unfocused as he launched suddenly into a tale of the avatar before Yuki. "Seventy years ago, during the time of the Great War of Fire that lasted one hundred years, there was a Fire Nation royal called Princess Azula, daughter of Lady Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. It was said that the dear princess was… unsound even as a child. Azula was the second born, but she was Ozai's favorite child and he encouraged her and humored her in whatever ways he could. She was a firebending prodigy, and where normal bender's fire was naturally red, hers was scalding blue; temperatures above average firebenders. It was even assumed for a time that she might even have been more powerful than her father who was believed to be the greatest of all firebenders alive at that time.

"During the time of Avatar Aang's training, she'd hunted and chased him and his friends restlessly, all over the world. Her conquest of the great Earth Kingdom city, Ba Sing Se, was what earned her title in history books. She was successful in infiltrating the walls and taking over command of the city's rule of order, the Di Lee. The government at that time was corrupt, and they followed her without hesitation or regret, successfully constructing a coup against the Earth King and those loyal to him.

"They allowed the armies of the Fire Nation to march right through the walls that protected the citizens from that same tyranny they were trying to escape. Imagine the police officers of your nation handing over America to the Nazi's on a silver platter if you would. That's what it was like."

"Azula gained powerful allies that day. Now she had both fire and earth benders at her command and disposal. On that same day, she struck a fatal blow to the avatar that nearly killed him. Yet she had her hunches that the Avatar may yet still be alive, so she cleverly claimed to her father and all her followers that her brother Zuko had been the one to shoot him down."

"Wait a minute," Tim interrupted. "She just let him have all the praise and glory? Why in the world would she do that? That doesn't sound very clever at all."

"I'm getting to that part if you'll let me." Yu said irritably. Tim closed his mouth at once and there were no more interruptions. "This brought him great honor amongst his people and the love of his father at last. But if the claim had proven to be false, then all that honor and fame would burn to ashes, and Zuko would be hailed as the dishonored prince who'd let his nation down once again."

"Wait," Yuki interrupted, "you mean Lord Zuko who runs the tea shop in Ba Sing Se?"

"The very same."

"But I met him and he's so nice and wise now. He taught me how to play pai sho. I never knew he used to be bad."

"He had a complicated past… seems to run in that family." He said mostly to himself. "But Zuko was very confused about many things. Finally he realized that his destiny wasn't to follow in his family's footsteps after all, but to train the Avatar and help him defeat the Fire Lord. After his treason during the Day of Black Sun, Fire Lord Ozai named Azula his heir to the throne. But her mind was slipping away. For her whole life she used fear to manipulate others, even for her closest friends. After the treason of her two most loyal servants Ty Lee and Lady Mai, Azula began to slip further and further into the void, until there was nothing left but a madwoman.

"When the war was over, there was debate on what they were supposed to do with her. Azula's mind was so twisted that there was a possibility that she may never recover. She claimed she saw visions of her mother, but she never saw that woman ever again. They decided to imprison her where she would never be able to harm others. But that did not last.

"A group of her most loyal fire and earth benders broke her out of prison several moths after the end of the war. She has not been heard of since that day. For seventy long years no one has seen a single trace of her.

"Rumor says that she died, others say she did something to offend the spirits and they came and swallowed her whole. What is certain is that she vanished, as the avatar may have vanished before the war. Perhaps she is still out there, biding her time and waiting for the right moment to strike.

"But her followers continue with their rampage, making war, doing everything they can to tip the scales of balance and throw the world into chaos once again.

"A few years back the Avatar died and they knew that the next one would be a water bender. Franticly, the Azulons sent out spies to each of the poles. Each culture has different ways of discovering who the new avatar is, and when our tribesmen found out their discovery, they took precautions to protect your identity no matter what."

"That's the real reason why mom and dad traveled so much, isn't it?" Yuki realized, putting two and two together. "The fishermen was just an act while they were really just dodging the Azulons to protect me."

"The Azulons didn't know who you were for a very long time. But a traitor sold you and our mother and father out. Our parents knew there was no escape for them, so in order to protect you, they gave you drugged food and hid you deep within a tunnel under their house. No matter what happened that night, they never gave you up."

Yuki felt rooted as she stared into those eyes that were so much like hers. His words didn't help her as was his original intention. Instead they made her feel sick. She closed her eyes and clung to her stomach, feeling ill.

"Are you alright?" Bruce asked, concerned.

"No… I feel sick." She held her stomach for a moment and breathed trying to regain herself before sitting up and facing him again.

Yu looked at her expectantly, but when she insisted she was alright he continued. "Normally you would not be told until your sixteenth birthday, after you'd mastered your own element. Avatar Aang was twelve when the monks told him, but even he'd mastered air by that time." He looked distraught as he told her of her wearisome destiny. "You're so young now. You haven't even had the chance to learn from a true master yet. That's why I would be more than honored to serve as your teacher, but also as a friend and maybe in time as a brother too… if you'll have me."

"Of course I'll have you." Yuki said sitting up strait and tall. Then she went red and bowed her head professionally to him. "I mean, I would be more than grateful if you would teach me waterbending. That is, if it's okay with my dad."

Yu looked questionably at Bruce. The man sensed a resentment suddenly overpower the waterbender when she said the last part.

Bruce paused, taking the moment to study Yu. Then he smiled slightly and shrugged. "It's fine with me." _No it is completely not fine with me, _an annoying voice inside his head said at once.

"I'd like to start your training at once if it's not too much trouble. So why don't I come here again tomorrow at around seven a.m."

"Oh… that early?" Bruce definitely wasn't one to wake up _that_ early.

"Is that not okay?"

"Well no actually." He tried to explain as politely as he could. "I was hoping it would be okay if we scheduled this at around nine or ten."

For a moment it looked like Yu would argue, then he must've thought better of it and merely shrugged. "Very well. I'll be here at nine a.m."

* * *

><p>"Dad, daddy! Wake up!" Bruce was assaulted suddenly by a flying missile on his stomach. His eyes flew open and he woke as if coming out of an exorcism.<p>

"RAHAGHEIuuuh! WHAT?" He yelled when he spotted what had struck him. His daughter sat on his chest, looking like what lots of children look on Christmas morning. Her eyes were wide and he could tell she hadn't slept at all the previous night. Her hair was done up in its usual braids and she was already dressed and ready for the day. Bruce looked at his bedside table. It could not be eight thirty al—Awe crap! He could've sworn he'd just gotten back from rounds in the city. It could not have been five hours already. He rolled over, pulling the blankets over his head. "Five more minutes alright. Then I'll take you to school."

"Not to school, dad." She cried delightfully. "Training! I'm starting waterbending today by a real master and the real master is my real brother."

Bruce mumbled something and Yuki frowned. She pulled on the blankets. "Come on, dad. Yu said he'd be here at nine o'clock on the dot and it takes you at least half an hour to get ready. You've only got fifteen minutes, so please hurry up."

He uncovered his head enough to look at her. "Please?" She murmured softly. He didn't move. "Pretty please?" She leaned over and batted her eyes innocently, while throwing that sweet smile, which always made him soften. Always…

"Five more minutes and I promise, I'll get up." He insisted.

She looked _soooo_ disappointed, but sighed and climbed off him. "Okay…"

She jumped off the bed and turned slowly, leaving to come back again in five minutes. Then she was jerked back abruptly. She eeped and giggled when she realized what was happening. Bruce rapped her up in his arms, holding her comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, honey. I'm just so… tired lately." He yawned as he said this.

"Your fault for staying up so late." Yuki chirped sarcastically.

"Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?"

She looked up at him. "Yes."

She wiggled out of his grasp and stood up, pulling on his arm. "Now come on. No more stalling. You never just lie in bed when you have to save the world."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

"Quick, go and shave." She commanded, pushing him towards the bathroom. The door closed on her and she ran up to his closet to pick out his clothes for the day. She figured he would probably be wearing a plain sweater and pants today, rather than his professional business suit he wore for work and other occasions. He came out of the bathroom, shaved and washed. "Dad, what are you still doing in your pajamas?" Yuki greeted him by tossing his clothes at him, which he caught easily. "Here's your clothes, your shoes and socks. Here's your jacket."

"I thought this was Alfred's job." He chuckled, tossing his clothes over his shoulder and walking behind a screen to change. "Since when have I been raising a maid?"

"I dunno. I guess I just hang out with Alfred a lot."

"And apparently you've been spending way too much time with our butler."

"Hey it was your idea to pull me out of elementary and instead leave me home with the only human being here."

"That was after you blasted that kid into the cement wall… remember that?"

Yuki folded her arms. "Yeah, well he was being mean!"

"Uh huh, and hopefully after today we'll have a better grasp on your control."

She kicked her legs back and forth on the bed as she waited impatiently. It was 8:57 by now. "Are you done?"

"I'm done."

"Yay!" She leapt off the bed and grabbed his hand, pulling him down to the living room where they were just in time to see Alfred welcome Yu inside.

He looked up and smiled assuringly up at her. "Are you ready?"

* * *

><p>"Some say that water is a weak element due to our peaceful nature." Yu began standing on the beach where the morning waves beat smoothly against the sand. Bruce sat cross-legged on a bolder a few yards away, studying the class just as closely as Yuki. "You are aware that this is false. Water is very powerful. It can put out fire, cut through stone, wash away earth, it can even destroy metal, and when trapped over time, water will carve a new way. I'm sure you already know about our legacy. You know that the moon was the first waterbender and that our Ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to accomplish this themselves."<p>

"Yes, I know. Yuna told me that my bending would always be stronger at night, especially during the full moon."

"Yuna was right. We gain our strength from the moon and our life from the ocean. Tell me everything you know about water."

Yuki recited from memory. "Water is the life element. Wherever there is water there is life. Nothing can live long without water."

"Correct. Anything alive requires water to survive. What else can you tell me?"

Yuki thought. "I know that we as waterbenders can use our element to work as a catalyst to heal wounds and injuries. And we can pressurize our element to cut through solid objects like a blade."

"Very good." Yu smiled proudly. "You know more than I expected. Today I want to focus mainly on basic forms and breathing exercises." He got into a basic waterbending stance and Yuki imitated him. Gracefully he moved his arms into slow, fluid motions and Yuki followed as best she could. "You know that movement is not enough though. Where bending is concerned, it doesn't matter in the slightest if you move your hands around swiftly. It's more than just that. You have to actually feel the water and its movement around you."

"Like a magnet, or puppets." Yuki observed.

"Exactly."

"I can usually feel water before I see it." She announced stepping through the stances as her brother was doing. "I can feel my blood move towards the water, kinda like a sixth sense."

"That's very good. Many great benders can feel the pull of their element without having to see it. We'll be practicing a lot with unseen targets."

They stepped through more forms before Yu finally instructed her to bend.

"This form is called sinking and floating. It's a simple form in and of itself but it really teaches you how to feel the push and pull." He threw a large blob of water at her, which she caught expertly. She held it without moving for a moment. "Well toss it around a bit. Get a feel for your element."

She did what she was told, moving the water in complex shapes and spirals around her body.

He watched her silently for a time. Suddenly he spoke when she'd performed an unusually difficult move. "Do you know the water whip?"

"Kinda. I used to watch Master Unko use it many times. But he never gave me clear instructions on how it was performed."

"Ah I remember Master Unko. I could tell he hated teaching when I was his student."

"He never liked teaching, but for me he seemed to despise me more than the others. I think it was because I was a girl and the others were boys."

"I do believe Unko was a little biased towards female waterbenders. He seemed to favor the traditional ways more." Yuki glared, remembering how her old teacher was especially nasty towards her during their lessons. "You can't blame him though. He was raised in the northern tribe after all."

"What's it like there? I mean, I've never been there, but I know that's where you were trained. I hear it's pretty different from home."

"It is." His eyes became distant as he entered into a memory. "Lets take a break for a minute."

"Well…" Yuki waited, leaning on her hands as she caught her breath.

"The southern tribe is more based upon strength and survival. Our warriors are fierce and determined and we are content to live simply in tents and canoes. Our sister tribe, however, is centered around beauty and culture. Their cities are some of the most beautiful on earth. Buildings and structures that are carved so carefully by their own artisans in snow white ice and liquid blue."

Yuki tried to imagine the grandeur of such a place and smiled as her mind took root. "I hope I see it one day."

"You will."

She looked around suddenly realizing they were alone. "Hey, where'd dad go?"

"I believe Mr. Wayne's butler told him he had an important call on the phone and he went to answer it."

They stepped through more stances and exercises. Yu even assigned her yoga stretches, which would develop her flexibility over time. As they practiced, they spoke about other issues that weren't all related to bending or avatar duties. They spoke of their family and about Yuna.

"I never knew how she died." Yu whispered as they were taking a break. They sat together on a boulder, watching the sun descend in the ocean. Yuki had just finished relating to him the death of their big sister. Unexpectedly he bent over and buried his face in one hand. The sun made the specks of water running down his face, sparkle with a different kind of beauty.

"For her funeral, I tended her myself." Yuki murmured. "Dick said she looked like the Lady of Shalott from Tennyson. I don't know what that means but I think it was beautiful."

"I went back to the camp but all I found was this." He held up a little painting of Yuna dressed precisely like her funeral with the coat, earrings, and hair done up so exactly, it felt like she'd died that very day it was painted. She stood closely beside a handsome man who wore fire nation robes and armor. This must've been her husband. Yuki stared into his golden eyes and could tell in that one look that he was a kind man.

"After Chen Khon died, Yuna never went anywhere without that painting, and when I found it in the ruins I knew at once that our sister was dead. I still can't believe she's gone though."

Yuki laid her head on his shoulder in a very little sister like gesture. He sniffed, whipping his face quickly. Without a thought he handed her the portrait. "Here, you should have it."

Yuki would've argued, saying that he should keep it since he found it first, but she couldn't seem to form the words. She wanted the painting too much. Over the years her sister's face had become blurry in her memory and looking at that painting had refreshed the gorgeous image of her forever. She wanted to revisit that memory each and every time it started to fade. Beautiful, loved… happy. It was the picture she wanted to remember with her forever. Not the bloody, beaten corpse that burned her mind and haunted her nightmares.

Yuki took it, smiling at the loving couple.

"I wish I could've known him. He looks kind."

"He was. And he was a firebender."

She looked stunned. "Really?"

"Yup. It was a bit of a curiosity that a Fire Nation soldier would ever fall in love and actually marry a girl of the Water Tribe. Our father wasn't too thrilled about it, but after some coaxing, bribing, several rites of passage and a bit of begging… he finally gave them his blessing.

"They were married on a Fire Nation ship in the water tribe. It was quite a show. Upon Yuna's request they were married Fire Nation."

"She was?"

He nodded. "After the wedding she went to live in his home land on one of the islands."

"Wow. For her to leave her family, her friends, and her home like that... it must've taken an awful lot of courage."

"We tried to keep in touch as often as we could manage. Then when I left home after you were born, I guess I sorta lost contact. One day I received a message from the Fire Nation. It was from Yuna telling me that Chen was dead. I wasn't able to go to the funeral."

"Why?"

"I had things I had to attend to myself. And plus I was in the Earth Kingdom at this time. You have to remember that transportation there is not as easy as it is here. The letter itself was at least two weeks old by this time."

"How did he die?"

"He went out one night and didn't come back. Yuna found him handing in a tree in their back yard the next morning with brands on his wrists."

Yuki stared openmouthed at him. He looked at her realizing suddenly what he'd said and who he'd said it to. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—,"

"No… I'm glad you did. Now I know just what kind of people there are in the world."

He looked out to the setting sun. "I wish I could give you a happy ending."

"Dad says that sometimes there are no happy endings."

Yu retracted on the word 'dad'. He stared fixedly on the water. "Yuki, he's not your father."

She stared at him. "He's been my father for two years."

"He's not our father. And when you call him 'dad' like that, I can't help but feel that you've thrown out our parents. Our true mother and father."

"NO! Never!" She grabbed his shirt frantically. The thought was so unbearable. How could she ever throw those two precious people out of her life so easily? "I could never throw them out! I still love them so much and all they've ever done for me. It's just…" She trailed off, searching for the right words. "When I think about him, the way he acts, the way he treats us, me and Tim that is. I can feel how he thinks of me. To him, despite blood relations, I'm his daughter, his own child, and to me… he is my father here." She looked at him, a desperation glowing in her eyes that yearned for him to understand. "I am the avatar. I have had many, many fathers."

* * *

><p>Yuki lied on her bed, staring at the picture so intently it was as if she would burn it with her focused gaze. She gazed upon the two people, trying to memorize every detail and angle of their loving faces.<p>

"Yuki?" She looked over and saw Bruce in the doorway. "It's time for supper. Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah. I'll be right down."

He came closer, interested in what she was looking at. "What's that?"

She handed it to him. "Yu gave it to me today."

He smiled at the faces and handed it back to her. "They look happy."

She took it and rolled on her stomach. "I still can't believe Yuna was married—and to a Fire Nation soldier. It's just… I can't believe she never even told me."

"It must've been painful to even think of it." He said touching her shoulder consolingly. "That's probably why she never spoke of him. Sometimes words bring up wounds we can't handle."

"I sometimes get that way with my parents. Sometimes with Yuna too, but not as much. It feels kinda good to talk about her. Sorta like, even though she's gone, she's still with me too, because I remember her."

Bruce didn't say anything. He just patted her on the back and gave her painting back to her. He turned back to her before leaving though. "Listen, if you want, we can get a memorial together for Yuna and your parents. We'll put it wherever you want."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

* * *

><p><strong>You know I just saw the trailer for the new avatar season they're doing. SO COOL! I'm so excited but I'm kinda sad too. I mean they really left us hanging with the final season for the legend of Aang and now they're going to give us all new characters. <strong>

**I mean did they find Zuko's mother? Will Azula escape and win her revenge on Team Avatar? Are there really no more flying bison? And what about Cabage Man? What ever happened to him? HUH? How come they didn't show him at all in the third season? Will he be in the new series?**

**Hopefully they can clear some of these questions up with the new story.  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
>Servants of the Moon<p>

The days followed and Yuki soon found she was exceeding faster than Yu had ever anticipated. On most days they talked about different things. Yuki soon found her attachment in her brother grow stronger with each lesson and story he shared with her. More than anything she wanted to work hard and do her best. By Easter she had become an expert waterbender, yet still her training was not complete.

She'd also uncovered something gravely interesting one day while she was walking the beach alone with Ollo. The moon was high that night and the sea was unnaturally calm. Suddenly the earth rumbled unexpectedly. She toppled over as Richter came pummeling through, nearly trampling her in his haste. Several other spirits followed him; some that she recognized and some that she didn't.

"Hey, what's going on?"

One of the little ones, a chick sort of thing, stopped to tell her in a quick yippy language. "A thing. A thing from the moon has come. It is a serpent."

"A serpent? What kind of serpent?"

It babbled fearfully without answering her question. "Don't go near it. The serpent! The serpent from the moon. It will eat us all." Without explaining more, it ran off, clearly scared out of its mind.

"W-wait!" What on earth scared these spirits like this? A mystery like this just had to be explored. "Come on, Ollo. Let's go and see what it is."

It the little white bat creature could speak it would've probably said something along the lines of, _Oh sure let's run towards the thing that these spirits are so freaked out over._

"I'm the avatar after all." Yuki explained. "And it's my job to keep balance between humans and nature. This seems like a perfect opportunity for me to assert myself as the bridge between our worlds. Are you with me… Ollo?"

She turned and caught the animal just in time as she flew fearfully after the other spirits. Yuki almost could hear her yelling out, _Wait for me, guys!_

"Chicken bat!"

She turned back and marched up the way the spirits came. "Well I'm not afraid. I can make friends with any spirit… except maybe Kho." She walked up the path till she came to a crevice in the ground. It was deep and there was a faint moaning coming from it. Spirits she could handle well enough, but this looked like an ideal spot for ghosts. She gulped but scaled the tunnel into a giant cave. "This cavern must connect to the batcave somewhere along the way."

Suddenly she jumped when she heard a dreadful howling. Her next instinct was to climb right back from where she came, but coming down and going up were two different things. Looks like there was no turning back now. She was stuck until she found an alternative way out. Timidly, she followed where the sound was coming from till it grew louder and closer. She crawled on her hands and knees when she distinctly heard a hissing echoing off the walls. She wasn't particularly fond of snakes but then again, how bad could it really be?

_Bad enough to scare every spirit within a two mile radius apparently._

She ignored that voice of her better judgement and drew closer, listening as a banging could now be heard. She peered around a stalagmite at the thing that was barreling around so much. Her breath caught in her throat at such a sight.

Distantly she could hear Yuna's voice speaking to her about her favorite water tribe fairytale.

Legend says that the moon once loved a young warrior on earth. But when war came to her country, she had to say goodbye to him and live in the sky away from the young man, where she could watch over her people and protect them. The two never saw each other again. The young man eventually found new love, had a family and grew old with that woman. But the moon always remembered the boy she fell in love with. She watched from her throne in the sky as he grew into a prosperous old man. The moon wanted to grow old with him, but she stayed young and beautiful for all of time. Soon the moon became restless because she was cut off from the rest of the world. Hoping to bridge the gap she felt from earth to moon, she reached her hand out and took hold of a beautiful white serpent. She fed it holy water and with that, it grew sleek and large. Snowy white fur sprung under the scales and it grew four legs like a dragon. The creature became the first Lunar Serpent, also known as an Arctic Snake. It was the most beautiful creature to ever touch the earth. The moon asked it to bring back a young warrior like the man she fell in love with as a young woman. The serpent went back to that world and searched high and low, but the only one who could equal the young man from before, was his very own son. The moon did not want the man to feel sad for the loss of his child but she could not bear to be left alone any longer. So the serpent plucked the young boy from the ground and carried him to the moon, where the two fell in love. The man knew for what reason the moon took his son away. He mourned the fact that he would never see the boy again, but he gave the moon his blessing, telling her that he prayed his first love would find solace at last. When the task was done, the serpent was sent back to earth in exchange for what she took.

"This must be the same one from the fairytales." Yuki whispered in awed amazement. But the creature seemed so vicious now. It's jaws opened and closed as it roared and howled and it's tale and neck battered against the walls of the cave as if wishing to dislodge them from its body. It was then that Yuki realized its howls were from pain, not anger. Cautiously she stepped out of her hiding place and came near it.

When it spotted her, it drew back, hissing threateningly. Yuki could see the blood stains marring its perfect white fur around the tale and neck. She got to the ground and held her hands out to it.

"Easy, girl. Easy. I'm not going to hurt you." She whispered. Her hands drew up a ball of water, allowing it to glow softly with calm healing. "I want to make you feel better. Please let me help you."

The serpent looked at her with her big blue eyes and Yuki could sense pain and fear inside them as she came closer. She could also see the dark metal irons on all of her limbs. Someone had tried to capture her and had set her bindings far too tight.

"That's what's wrong with you, isn't it? Well I can help you but I can't come closer if you don't let me." The serpent didn't look any calmer. "It's okay, you can trust me. I'm from the water tribe. Your lady was from the water tribe too. And not only that… I'm the avatar." The serpent looked stunned as she listened to her words. She drew closer, sniffing the girl cautiously. Her head was at least the size of a whole grizzly bear and her eyes were as big as basketballs. She must've been at least a hundred feet long from tip of nose to end of tail.

All seemed to check out, for at that moment, the creature fell into her hands as large round tears dripped from her eyes. Yuki stumbled to the ground allowing her to rest in her lap while the tears fell. She could easily tell the creature had been through so much lately; captured, beaten, starved, enslaved, betrayed, and finally lost. She touched her head to hers. "I'm so sorry you are hurt. Will you let me heal you?"

The serpent didn't respond, and she didn't move when Yuki cautiously began removing her metal bindings and heal the many crimson wounds. Yuki marveled in how soft and fluffy her gorgeous white fur was. She wanted to press her face in it but kept from doing so. When she was done, the serpent was still spotted with blood, but at least her wounds were healed enough to allow her relief. Yuki would have to leave and bring back some medicine and food for her.

"Don't be afraid okay, but I have to leave now." The serpent looked frightened, as if it did not want her to go so suddenly. "I'll be right back and I'm going to bring you some food and medicine. Just stay here and I'll be back soon."

Yuki ran as fast as she could. Her dad was thankfully out for the night and Yu had gone back to his place in the city. The only obstacle she had to go through was Alfred. But that didn't mean it would be easy. The butler had eyes like a hawk sometimes.

She searched the fridge, wondering what on earth magical moon monsters ate exactly.

"What are you doing?"

Yuki nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice suddenly. She turned facing the butler uncertainly.

"Oh, hi Alfred. I didn't realize you were here. I was just coming down to get a little snack and I guess you—,"

"What are you hiding?" He demanded, seeing through her at once.

She grinned for a moment but faltered as his eyes bore into her expectantly. "Awe man, you're too smart for me! Okay I found this giant magical monster down by the beach hiding in a cave, and she was really hurt so I healed her wounds but she's still not all well so I came down here to get some food and bandages for her, but I don't know what she eats and I can't just leave her down there cause she's alone and scared real bad." She said all this in one quick breath, as if it would be easier to admit that way.

Alfred stared for a moment. If he'd been any other butler, he probably wouldn't have believed her. But thankfully, he'd seen just as many wild and unexplainable things as Batman had, so her story was nothing so far as ordinary for him.

"Where is it?"

* * *

><p>"She's been through a lot, so try to stay low and don't spook her."<p>

Alfred followed her down the cavern to see the largest animal he'd ever seen. They'd brought yards of towels and salves with them as well as a bit of food, which was probably crumbs in comparison to her enormous size. "It looks like some sort of arctic dinosaur, Miss Yuki."

"She does, doesn't she?"

She'd relayed the fairytale to him as they were walking back to the cavern together, so he knew already what she was.

They approached just as cautiously as before. When the serpent spotted the new human, she backed away suspiciously.

"It's okay, girl. He's a friend. He wants to help you, too." Yuki came closer, offering her a watermelon, which seemed half the girl's own size. The serpent came closer sniffing it. It's long tongue slithered out and took it in her jaws. She chewed it up and swallowed. "There we go. Good girl." Yuki hugged her around the head and stroked the long fur delicately. The serpent relaxed at once.

They went about, bandaging the worst of the wounds with the towels and treating the infected ones with the salves. Yuki worked on keeping her calm while Alfred did most of it.

"I still can't believe my eyes." Alfred said for the fifth time. "This is quite an extraordinary find miss. Every archeologist in the world would be tripping over each other to get a better look at this amazing creature, Miss Yuki."

"No! No, we can't tell anyone about this, Alfred."

"Well of course we can't tell anyone about this." The man announced obviously. "Can you imagine what kind of unwanted publicity that would bring on this family. People would be poking around nonstop and Master Bruce would run the chance of being discovered. And people would find out you were the manifestation of another planet's soul and what not. It's just a lot of attention none of us need at the moment."

"But we can't just give her up."

"Of course we can't. That's not what I was suggesting at all. What I was trying to say was that we should tell Master Bruce of this and allow him to figure out what we should do."

"Um, Alfred?"

"Yes, Miss?"

Yuki played with her fingers uncertainly. "Could we maybe wait to tell dad about this?"

"Why on earth, Miss Yuki? The way I see, he should be the first to know as soon as he gets back."

"Well it's just that I want her to be a little stronger and a bit more trusting before she meets dad. I mean dad's kinda… intimidating at times without even meaning to be, and I just don't want her to freak out when she sees him." She looked at him pleadingly with her big blue eyes. "Please. Lets just wait a little longer."

How could he ever say no to those eyes? He sighed in defeat. "Very well. Just until she's better."

She beamed. "Yes. Okay."

"And I don't want you spending any late nights down here, understand? Because if Master Bruce asks where you are, I'm not going to lie to him for you."

She looked disappointed but nodded when she realized the fairness in that.

* * *

><p>Weeks progressed and the serpent, which she named Nala, had soon become Yuki's highlight of every evening. After Bruce and Tim went out, Yuki quickly made her way down to the beach where Nala was always waiting very eagerly. In no time the serpent had grown incredibly attached to the little girl, to where she despised the time when she had to leave. Out of desperation, Yuki tried leaving Ollo down with her as company. The two learned to get along well enough, but there still were those disputes, which ended with arguments between the two creatures. They both felt the need to be with the girl, because now they were part of her, and she was part of them too.<p>

It was getting hard to contain her now. Any day, Bruce would find out her secret, and if things came to worse she didn't really know how he'd react.

One night she decided it was but time for Nala to stretch her wings (figuratively speaking becasue she didn't actually have any) and finally fly. Yuki had purchased a custom made saddle with Alfred on the way to pick up Tim from a friend's house. With precise ingenuity they'd been able to figure out just exactly how it would fit on her.

As Yuki sat perched on her neck, she swung the reigns impatiently. "Come on, girl you've been sitting on the ground for weeks. You're a flying animal. So get your big butt in the air."

Nala rolled on the ground as Yuki tried fruitlessly to get her off the earth. Alfred studied the sight with amusement.

"Maybe you need to say something to get her flying." He suggested. "Heehaw? Hut hut? Whoo Hoo?"

"Yeah. I don't think that's working."

"Merely a suggestion."

She leaned over, lying out on the fluffy white fur. "Alfred doesn't think you can fly, girl, but I know you can. Come on don't you want to be near the sky in the air above the stars and the moon. Yeah—don't you want to be near the moon? Near Yue?"

The serpent cooed in voice that sounded like purring.

"Come on. You can do it. Hup hup!"

Nothing was working. So with a heavy heart, she dismounted from the saddle.

"Maybe I was wrong." Yuki muttered just loud enough for Nala to hear her. "Maybe you're not a lunar serpent after all. Maybe you're just a great, big fluffy dinosaur, like Alfred said. You can't fly, can you?" Nala gave her a stunned look and Yuki turned her back to leave.

There was a roar suddenly behind her and Yuki was thrown head over heals. She landed on the leather saddle with a thump and had to quickly clutch the edge to keep from falling off as Nala sprinted forwards wildly. She didn't ascend but perched closely at the edge of a deep cliff. Yuki's feet tingled and her hands began to sweat at the depth of such a cavern. Nala held herself just over the edge, making her rider twitch with anxiety.

"Um… okay, Nala. You've convinced me. I'm sorry for what I said and—oh my gosh this is really high."

The serpent cast her a devious look from her eye as if to say, _You wanted to fly. Fine. Let's fly!_

Without a thought, the great beast leaped off the edge. Yuki felt her stomach fly up suddenly and her head went back. She screamed in horror at the speed and terror of falling. Her head bounced back when Nala spiked up suddenly. She spun in a tight corkscrew as she dove through the tunnel leading out of the cavern. Yuki made herself as small as she could, to avoid the ceiling and outer walls. She'd never felt so on edge before.

"AAAAH! NALA! STOP! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY OKAY!"

The cave opened and fresh air blew in her face. The serpent rushed out to meet the open sky. Yuki's eyes were tightly shut all through the terrifying endeavor. When she felt the serpent relax and still suddenly, she lifted her head to see if it was over. But it wasn't… well at least not exactly.

The air was cool, brushing her hair back like a shapeless comb. The sky neared them as they ascended higher and higher. Normally stars were hidden behind the folds of rain clouds, but tonight they shone like zillions of shining beacons in the dark. They were so close it felt like Yuki could reach up and grab a handful in her small fists. She couldn't of course, but clouds were different. She reached up when they neared a large cumulus. The mist was weightless but she could feel it like a soft spray of seawater.

She looked back, watching Nala's tale swish and coil through the air like a snake swimming in water. It was the most amazing sensation she'd ever encountered; the feeling of utter weightlessness and shear freedom.

Yuki looked into one of Nala's big blue eyes, and it was as though the creature winked at her.

"HIGHER!" She cried with delight. They rose above the cloud cover, watching in the distance as northern lights danced across the sky. Yuki suddenly felt herself being thrown off the saddle. Before she could even feel slightly afraid, Nala had caught her gently in between her great furry paws. She dangled the human above the clouds, allowing her feet to rapidly skim the cottony mist. Yuki closed her eyes letting the breeze blow her loose hair out of her face.

The cloud ended and she saw below the city lights of Gotham. Somewhere below the folds of glass and metal, she knew Batman and Robin were busy fighting off numerous of villains and criminals. She couldn't think about that right now though. All horrible thoughts were flung from her mind as Nala threw her up once more. Yuki trusted her with her life now. There was no fear inside her as she began to plummet to earth. Just as she'd expected, Nala dove under just in time and caught her on the saddle. They skimmed the harbor before Yuki realized what a mistake that was.

Nala was a pure white streak on dark water. It didn't help that she was also the size of a bronkasourus. Just as Yuki was about to pull Nala back towards the sky, the serpent dived quickly under water to avoid an oncoming yacht.

The water was disgusting, and it didn't take long for the creature to suddenly regret her decision. They dodged the propeller and spouted out the harbor.

Yuki sputtered, sniffing from the sudden soak. "Well that was unexpected." The air suddenly felt much colder now that she was drenched. She willed the dirty water away with a wave of her hands. In a moment the two were nice and dry again.

"I sure hope no one saw me." She murmured desperately. "Dad'll kill me if anyone saw my face. Hopefully they'll only see you. You don't have much of an image to maintain like humans do." She reached down and ruffled her fur. The ride home was much calmer and Yuki could distinctly feel the edges of sleep creeping in her vision. Before she'd gone to bed though she would definitely have to tell Alfred about their incredible adventure.

"And how was it?" Alfred asked as she stumbled into the kitchen. It was midnight. Bruce and Tim wouldn't be back for three more hours at least.

"Oh it was incredible." She announced, excitedly explaining in detail with her hands. "It was the most exhilarating experience I've ever been through. While we were flying, Nala, she tossed me in the air and I'm hanging there just like suspended, then I started to fall and Nala grabbed me suddenly with her paws. It was so insane and crazy and wonderful… it was like… it was like magic."

"I'm glad you had fun."

"I did."

"Well then now that that's over, I suggest you get some rest. You have lessons at seven tomorrow."

"As if I could ever sleep." Yuki cried running up the stairs.

* * *

><p>Yuki skipped into breakfast feeling like the monkey who'd found the banana tree. Bruce looked up from his paper and caught her happy expression.<p>

"You're certainly in a good mood this morning." He noted irrelivantly.

Yuki stopped smiling and rubbed her back sheepishly. "Uh yeah. Last night I had this really terrific dream."

"What was your dream about?"

"Well it was..." she stopped when her eyes suddenly caught on the front page of his news paper.

WHITE MONSTER SPOTTED IN GOTHAM HARBOR  
>TERRIFIED YACHT MEMBERS<p>

Yuki's heart skipped a beat as she stared at the black and white photograph below the title. So someone _had_ seen them last night. She tried to see more of the photograph, but it was so blurry it was hard to make out.

"Yuki." Bruce said, bringing her out of her trance.

"Yessir?" She said abruptly.

"I asked you what your dream was about."

"Oh right well..." she rubbed her back. If she said it was about flying that might make him suspicious. "Well it was about... living on the moon... with polar bears and penguins."

He raised an eyebrow. "Sounds... unusual."

"Well... it was alot better than it sounds."

"Well that's not the only thing weird." Tim said coming in and taking a seat. "For once Batman isn't the talk of the town. Did you hear about this lake monster all over the news?"

"A lake monster" Yuki asked fearfully, already knowing what he was talking about.

"Yeah. They say it was some sorta giant flying white serpent." He buttered some toast and took a large bite. "Scared the daylights out of a whole bunch of yacht passangers."

"People get weird stories about that all the time." Yuki said. "I mean someone takes a picture of a weird leaf and people automatically want to believe it's some kind of fairy or gnome."

"Yeah," Tim's eyebrow rose in her direction. "And you're usually one of them. Why so unbeliving so suddenly?"

"I'm not." She announced defensively. "I just don't want to end up believing in nothing but a trick of the light. Side's it's not like they have a video of it or anything."

"They do have a video of it."

Yuki's eyes went wide. "They do?"

"Yeah. Someone took it on their phone and uploaded it to Youtube."

"You don't say."

"I'll show you."

"Oh, I don't really have time right now, Tim. But maybe later when I have a few minutes to spare." She turned from the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to have some breakfast, Miss?" Alfred asked coming in with a plate of eggs, sausage, fruit, and toast.

"N-no." Her fists bunched up her shirt nervously. "I have to go down and see Rickter. He's been feeling kinda bad lately cause everyone saw him freak out over some kittens when they jumped out at him. So, I'm trying to build up his self-confidence so Archip won't tease him anymore."

"Okay. Well, have fun."

Yuki went through the back door, feeling like an utter moron. How on earth could she have been that careless? From now on, no more wild endeavors like that. She couldn't risk having someone see her.

* * *

><p>Yuki took more caution when flying with Nala now. The heavens were usually very cold, so to stiffle the chill she wore an aviator disguise complete with a big ovecoat, goggled headpiece, a red wool scarf, and warm gloves. Her costume also proved another purpose by disguising herself incase she was accidentally spotted by onlookers. She also stayed away from populated areas, small towns included. She couldn't wrisk the chance of someone else seeing her again.<p>

She flew with Nala every night now, and each time was more exhilarating than the last. It was during one of these flights that Yuki discovered Nala could travel far out of the atmosphere without suffocating. What was even stranger was that Yuki didn't suffocate either. As Nala flew higher and higher into the sky, a thin silver vapor, almost like a force field, surrounded their bodies. It thickened till it was as wide as her hand. She breathed and found she wasn't gasping as they exited the earth's atmosphere. Suddenly it made sense to her. The serpent would never be able to fetch the man without killing him before they exited the earth's gravity. So the moon must've given her power that would protect the man from crushing under the weightlessness of space.

"Whoa! This is really cool." She breathed, staring at the round earth below them. "This is more impressive than what the astronauts have. Clunky metal and all that. I can't believe this is real. I'm afraid I'm gunna wake up soon and this'll all be a dream."

But it wasn't. Nala was unlike any creature on the planet. On these nights Ollo accompanied them both frequently. Within two weeks they were the best of friends. All three of them.

Now if only she could find the courage to tell her family.

* * *

><p>In the world of Gotham crime was bursting. Sometimes Batman would receive an urgent call from the Watchtower calling him to answer to a crisis that needed his attention at once. Yuki began to see less and less of the man she called daddy. Not only that, but Batman and Robin went out often these nights, sometimes separately. And though Yuki had become a very skilled fighter, she was still prohibited from joining any time soon.<p>

One day, though, Robin didn't come back. They waited for three days but he did not return home. The Bat Family was frantic. Bruce, Barbara, and Dick went out every night in search of him but no one found a trace of the boy. Bruce couldn't even find him through the tracker he'd put in his utility belt. At last Yuki voiced her complaints.

"Dad, please let me come tonight." She pleaded leaning against his car as he prepared to drive out. "I can help you. I bet I could find him."

"No." He told her bluntly. "It's too dangerous."

"No!" She argued when he'd refused her help yet again. "I think it's too dangerous for _you_. That's why Tim was taken. Not because he was taken off guard but because he didn't have any powers to protect himself and neither do you."

"I said no." Batman stated bluntly. "That's my final word on the subject."

"He's my family too. Why won't you let me help him?"

He said nothing, merely pulled the car out and zoomed away.

Yuki had never been so angry with him. How dare he leave her here like some helpless little girl. She ran to her room, brushing quickly past Alfred as he was walking down to the cave. She slammed the door on her room and turned the water on in the shower without getting in. Alfred knew her habits by now. He knew she was upset and he knew it would be at least two hours before she emerged from her soak. Thankfully she could use such to her advantage.

"Sorry dad, but I'm not going to sit by like a good little girl from now on. I'm a waterbender and that's just how it is."

She'd been designing this outfit for three months. She kept in mind the combination of Kyoshi and Katara, her two personal heroes from the avatar world. She pulled on a deep blue short sleeved shirt and matching caprees, which cut off just below her knees. She also wore a yellow breast plate like the Kioshi Warriors, tying it up with a sky blue sash around her waist and touching it off with blue Indian slippers. Her make up was prepared like the Kyoshi warriors too, but in replace of the red eye shadow and lipstick, hers was blue. Her hair she did up with a clip in the back and twined her long bangs into two neat hair loopies. She finished it off with a headband with a gold plate over her forehead.

Yuki studied herself in the mirror. It was so different from her usual pair of braids, casual clothes, and plain face.

"I look pretty good." She commented turning around to inspect her back. "Alright come here, Ollo."

Upon command, the creature soared over to her. She held him up and looked into his big brown eyes. "We're going on a little adventure tonight and you're gunna be my sidekick, kay. We're gunna get in huge trouble when we get home but that's a chance I'm willing to risk. I know I can find Tim better than dad can. So are you with me?" The bat-like creature rubbed his head with his paw disinterestedly. "I'll take that as a yes."

Ollo perched on her shoulder as she stepped on the ledge of her window. She whistled into the night and spotted a white thread rise above the trees. It grew as it came closer.

"That's my girl." She patted the head of Nala tenderly as she got on. She held a red sweater out to her nose. "I'm not sure what kind of blood hound you are, but technology has obviously failed dad. Here. This is Tim's favorite jacket. See what you can find with—Ahhhh!" Without a thought, Nala was zooming away as if she already knew where Tim was being kept.

In only a matter of moments they were flying near a devastated structure. From the air, Yuki thought it looked like a prison, and for a good reason. There were broken down guard towers, shattered fences that were fifteen feet tall, and bars on the windows. She distantly remembered her dad talking about a place called Arkham Asylum where held some of the most insane criminals in history. This must've been what was left of the old building.

Nala placed her and Ollo on one of the fallen away ledges. Yuki patted her affectionately. "If we need you, I'll call. Stand by just in case though."

She turned and ran down the hall till she began to hear screaming followed by demented laughter. Yuki recognized that scream. "Tim." Her walk turned into a run as she sprinted forward. She came into an operating stage, staying close, low, and hidden. The sight before her would've brought tears to her eyes if she were still the helpless little girl she was when she first came to Gotham.

Robin was bound hand and feet spread apart on an operating table as volts of electricity shot through his body. his costume was ripped and stained in several differnt places. It looked almost unrecognizable. A man she recognized as the Joker stood beside him, cackling heinously as the boy cried out in anguish. A clown woman stood beside him holding a tray of tools and smiling serenely. So that was Harley Quinn. Yuki felt her blood serge, and rage powered her.

The electricity was cut off and Robin panted with anguish.

"Ollo." Yuki whispered. "Get the girl. I'll handle the clown."

"Ya know, son, this could all be avoided if you told me a few things." Joker said happily. "Like whatever it is that makes your beloved boss tick."

"Go to hell!" Robin muttered. He sounded too weary to lift his head. His defiance earned him a swift slap in the face. Yuki thought she would attack him right there. How dare he hurt her brother! How dare he strike a young boy! Joker was about to deliver more blows at him, when he was suddenly distracted by a squeal.

"Ahhh. Get it off me. Get it off!" The woman cried out as the pet attacked and pulled her cheeks and little clown hat painfully. She swatted desperately at her attacker but the animal zoomed off before she could touch it. It landed on a small, outstretched arm.

"Ooh what do we have here?" Joker cooed interestingly. He looked at this new person delightfully, inspecting her the way someone inspects a piece of fruit at the market. She was little; barely four feet tall and with her unusual clothes and strange makeup, he didn't suspect she belonged to the bat family. "Let me guess, due to the fact that you have no seen weapons, I'm going to assume you have some nasty little talent that you're planning on using."

"I like the make up." Harley said distantly.

"Let him go." Yuki demanded angrily. "I'll give you one warning and one warning only. If you do what I say, I won't have to hurt you."

Mad laughter echoed through the building. "Oh really? Well I have a better idea, little girl." He answered, pulling out a gun and pointing it at her. "Let's guess what your power is, hmm! If it's speed you'll have no trouble dodging the bullet. If it's strength it'll bounce gently off you. If it's anything else... well lets see. So which is it?"

"Your voice is annoying." She blurted. Her arms brandished upwards and a massive wave rose up from the sinks behind her. It headed strait for the clowns. Both their eyes went as wide as plates at the sight of the unexpected ability.

Joker fired, but an ice shield immediately deflected the bullet. In a matter of seconds Yuki had disposed of them easily. By the time she was done, both the clowns were hanging sideways in icy tight stalagmites with their scalps pressing into one another uncomfortably.

"What the devil are you?" Joker muttered through gritted teeth. He couldn't even move his neck with how securely the ice cast was set over him.

"I am," Yuki announced, standing to her full height, confident now in whatever she was, "the Avatar."

She waisted no more time with these lunatics but went immediately to her adopted brother's side. "Robin?" He was unconscious, and now that she was closer, it was clear just how severe his wounds really were. She sliced his bounds easily and caught him awkwardly as he fell, lying him down on the ground gently. "Robin?"

There was no response. Fearfully, she began healing his many battered wounds. He stirred when he felt the sudden relief. All at once his eyes opened and he looked at her. Her look of relief could brighten even the darkest room.

"Thank you, Yuki." He whispered coarsely from lack of water over the last few days.

"Hey what's family's for, right?" She murmured just as softly.

"It was perfect!" Joker hissed, trapped within his icy prison. "I was finally going to win. I had the one thing Batman cared for most. My plan was shear genius. But you…" His eyes swiveled towards her. "You ruined everything! I'll get you for this, brat. I'll hunt down your whole family!" The last part he yelled with vengeance.

Yuki stood up with Robin. She wanted to answer his threat with something short and witty. But instead, she felt nothing with her fist triumph. She just wanted to tend to her brother and go home at last. "Whatever."

Her lack of speech seem to infuriate him more. "I'll kill you for this, you meddeling little brat!"

"Good luck with that." And with those words, she turned her back on him and guided Robin to the door.

Robin was pretty injured after such a traumatic experience. He was limping and he needed to lean over her shoulder. Yuki was lucky enough to even get him out the door. She didn't have a phone on her and thus had to result to calling for help on a payphone in town. "Dad?"

"Yuki!" He sounded angry and worried atthe same time. "I'm back home and we know you're not in the shower. I don't know where you are but you are in serious—,"

"I found Tim." Her words brought him to an immediate halt.

"Where are you guys?"

"We're outside Denny's Hardware store. Tim's pretty busted up. I healed him as best I could and I think he'll be okay now." She trailed off, as she waited for a response.

"Who was it?"

"It was Joker and Harley Quinn. They're still at the old Arkham. They smashed Tim's belt and there wasn't a working phone anywhere in there, so I had to call for you in town."

"I'm coming to get you. Stay where you are."

"Actually dad, is it alright if _I_ take him home? I know you'll want to make sure he's alright and everything, but I really think I should do this."

He was quiet, contemplating her request. "Fine. Be home soon. And Yuki,"

She listened, waiting for his anger. "Yeah dad?"

"…Good work."

* * *

><p>"Here." Yuki handed Tim a piece of orange, which he ate gratefully. "You look malnourished. Alfred would be horrified."<p>

He didn't respond to that, merely ate what was given to him. Yuki watched him, wondering what on earth he could've been thinking.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Don't really want to talk much, huh?"

He looked away. "There's nothing much to talk about."

She suddenly found the ground very interesting as she leaned against Nala's fur. The serpent coiled around them on the rooftop of the tall skyscraper. It felt strangely safe to be surrounded by her.

"Nice pet by the way." Tim said ruffling the fur. "Where'd you find it?"

"I found _her_ in a cave near the beach. She was hurt pretty bad."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I had my reasons. Besides, that would've ruined the surprise."

Ollo pounced on Tim, cuddling next to him in hopes of easing the tension inside the boy. He reacted by scratching the bat-like animal tenderly behind the ears. "How'd you find me?"

"The old fashioned way. I used Nala to trace your scent. I figured since dad wasn't able to find you with his tracking beacon, then what harm could it be to at least try something new."

Tim shrugged, staring at the animal in his lap. His face was hidden behind his lank hair, but Yuki could feel the drips of water falling from his eyes. She neared him, sitting close and rubbing his back sympathetically. Slowly, she found her courage and embraced him.

"When you're ready, we'll talk." She gave him a moment to collect himself, before hauling him off the ground and turning to Nala. "Come on. Lets go home."

He hesitated when she swung her legs over the fuzzy white neck.

"You actually ride her?"

"Sure." She held her hand out to him but he didn't move. "Come on. It's okay. I'd trust Nala with my life."

He looked uncertainly at the creature and then at Yuki's insistent hand. Finally he took it and slowly mounted behind her. He clung to her waist and shut his eyes tight as Nala dived off of the building, ascending gently into the starlit sky. The dark world of Gotham was left behind as they themselves were lifted into heaven on the back of a noble monster.

Yuki looked behind her and urged Robin to open his eyes. He did so cautiously. Though, once he'd opened them, he couldn't look away from the dazzling sight. Unlike Yuki's first flight, Nala had flown gently for Robin, showing him a world that didn't always end in bloodshed. A place where one could be the size of a grain of sand and not feel frightened. Where all that existed were the clouds and sky and moon and stars. Where the world of turmoil, chaos, and speed had been transformed into color, freedom, and serenity.

In general, this wasn't his first time flying. He'd been on the batjet plenty of times before and had seen the clouds and night sky. But this was nothing like the jet. The metal and plexiglass had always made the rest of the sky seem so far away. But now he was able to touch and smell it. Taste it even.

It was like a release from the pain and torment he'd endured over the last week. Tranquility set over him as they flew on. By the time they reached home, Tim had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

When they landed Bruce and Alfred were waiting for them in the hanger of the batcave. Bruce and Yuki wer left alone as Alfred took Tim to his room. Yuki played with her fingers nervously, aware that Nala stood just behind her, surveying the strange and large man suspiciously.

"Sooooooo..." Yuki murmured without looking at him, "can I keep her?"

* * *

><p>Robin wasn't ready to go back to crime fighting any time soon. Batman was angry at first at Yuki for disobeying his orders but he had to admit, without her help they might not have found Tim before it was too late.<p>

It was kinda comical the way she'd left the villains. It put smiles on the police officers at least. Took them an hour to chisel the ice cocoons away, and at the end of that, they both suffered from extreme colds, but that was nothing compared to what they'd done to Robin.

Yuki had done all she could for him. Only time could heal him now.

It also left a question gnawing in his mind. The Justice League had been searching for new promising recruits lately. Yuki was very skilled and as a healer, maybe she would be able to help more as a member of the team rather than in the Batcave. It would mean asking the others what they thought of the idea, but he had a feeling they wouldn't refuse help like hers. They already knew her and what she was capable of from Batman's own descriptions.

When he spoke about it during their next meeting, all of them had different opinions about such a development.

"She's only a child." Dianna argued. "Is it really wise of us to entrust such responsibility on her?"

"Yuki is very mature for her age." Batman told them. "She's perfectly aware of the danger and the consequences. She's always eager to go where she's needed the most. I've watched her training. Her powers are nothing I've ever seen before and I have a better feeling she'd be more help to the world here than stuck in Gotham."

"I say go for it." Flash chuckled. "The Justice League needs more kids anyways."

"I thought you were enough kid for all of us." Hawk Girl retorted.

"I'm not sure." Superman interjected. "I mean yeah, she's skilled and all, but I can't help but feel nervous if she's fighting alien invasions and giant monsters at such a young age."

"I wasn't much younger than her when I began my training in Thanegar. We could take it little by little." Hawk Girl suggested. "Let her work her way up to more challenging dangers, and in time she'll be ready for anything. If the avatar is what she is, her duty must be for the world first."

"The only problem is, it isn't for this world." Green Lantern argued. "Her first concern is for the world she originally came from, not this one."

"This world is as much home to her as that first world. Why wouldn't she want to help it?"

Flash looked at Batman. "Have you talked about this with her?"

"Not yet. I wanted to know what we all thought and then let her make the final decision."

He smirked. "No pressure though, right?"

"If we all agree, then whatever she decides, she has my full support."

"Well I'm voting yes." Flash said instantly.

"Me too." Hawk Girl answered.

"No." Green Lantern said. Hawk Girl gave him an angry scowl and he quickly moved to explain himself. "Look I'm sure she's perfectly skilled, but one thing we got to remember is that she's still just a kid. Maybe a very talented kid, but still just a kid."

They turned to Diana. "I will vote yes. She's endured much already. I would be interested in continuing her training further."

"I believe my vote will be no." J'on said. "For the same reasons John stated. I believe she is too young to fully realize just what it means to be a warrior."

They turned to Superman. It was his choice that would determine the outcome. "Durring the invasion of the Gorgans, I stayed by her side while she ran through hell, healing wounded soldiers trapped under fire. That was when she was only eight years old, and without the training she's endured over the last few months. My vote is yes. We need more heroes like her."

"So it's decided." Batman said, getting to his feet.

"So how you gunna break the news to her?" Flash teased.

"You make it sound like she's got no say in this." Hawk Girl retorted.

"Hey, you never know. You said that she freaked when she first found out she was the avatar, how do you think she'll handle this stuff?"

* * *

><p>"Really? They said that?" Yuki's look of disbelief was evident after Bruce had given her the news. He'd told her the next day in the park. It was a nice day, one that was good to spend enjoying some ice cream. "Why would they want me, a little kid, to join the Justice League?"<p>

"We've all been watching your progress through your waterbending training. You're accelerating far beyond anything we could've predicted. It might also do with the fact that we could use more members."

Yuki smiled. "Yeah right. You can handle anything on your own. You're the bat for crying out loud."

Bruce rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well maybe, but even _he_ needs help sometime, though he'll never admit it to anyone."

She walked beside him in silence, looking at her toes in contemplation. "Do I have to grow up all at once? I kind of like just being a kid."

"No. Not all at once. Flash sure didn't. In fact he's still pretty much the kid he was twelve years ago."

She looked up at him, a candid look upon her face. "What do you think about it?"

He smiled. "Well I'm the one who originally proposed the idea, but you have my full support with whatever you decide."

That earned him a small smile from her. "I'd like to try it for a while, just to see what I think of it. I like to help people and be where I'm needed the most. I'm not going to do anything permanent until I'm at least done with waterbending, though."

"I think that's a good idea. Getting as much knowledge as you can before taking the leap, that is. It takes a really humble person to think that way." She smiled at him without saying anything. "How's your training going so far?"

"Great!" She chanted happily. "Yu says I'm ready for the hard stuff now. We've just finished with controlling solutions so now he's going to teach me how to control plants tomorrow."

"I wasn't aware you could do that."

"Yeah. Yu says that he learned the technique by studying from foggy swamp waterbenders in the Earth Kingdom. Then I was looking through the avatar book the other day and saw this one note about a forbidden waterbending technique that died with Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. I was reading about it and all but it wouldn't tell me anything more, not even its name. So I asked Yu about it and he says he didn't know there was ever such a technique that was supposedly 'forbidden'."

"I think I saw that note." Bruce said tossing the last of his cone into a trashcan. "What did it say again?"

Yuki recited from memory. "The forbidden technique is a form of waterbending developed by Hama of the Southern Water Tribe. Due to its sinister nature, it will not be presented in this book but merely to say that those who dare study it open themselves up to homicidal madness." She chuckled grimly as she finished the last of her ice cream. "Sounds fun huh? Wonder what they could've been talking about."

"Hope we don't find out someday."

"I dunno. Now I'm curious. Why mention it if they don't even want people to know about it? You know it's a no-brainer. The one guarantee that would make people go snooping around for that technique is to say "don't go snooping around for that technique." Now everyone will want to know what she was talking about."

"When a command is issued not to do something, it just makes you want to do it even more." Bruce smirked. "Huck Finn." He quoted.

Yuki smirked back at him knowingly. "Actually it was Tom Sawyer who said that."

"I was testing you."

Her eyebrow rose amusingly. "Yeah. I'm sure you were."

He smiled as they walked on. Sometime during their way through the park, Yuki's hand found her way in his.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah I used the scene from the movie the Joker Returns with Tim getting abducted and made it a sort of happy ending. I just wanted to make it better than it really turned out. Just to let you know though, he's still got some mental scars from that experience so he's not really better, but he gets better.<strong>

**Also, as of this moment you'll probably be hearing less about what's going on with Tots and the others, mostly because I've sort of lost interest in them. If someone requests to hear more about them though, I'll try to fill you in on what's going on as much as I can. Occasionally I might just give little ideas of how their doing but not much more than that.**

**Thank you for your awesome reviews everyone. You guys rock.**

**Tell you what though, if I can get ten reviews I'll update this on Monday if not sooner. Thanks so much for your wonderful support:)**


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